Courage and Innocence
by MysticPhantasy
Summary: MAGIRANGER POST-SERIES SPOILERS: CH 21 UP The Magirangers and their allies considered the defeat of N. Ma a great miracle, but it had a side effect: reviving a friend they thought was dead. Both canon and crack pairings. Mainly Houka X Titan in human form
1. Chapter 1

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Courage and Innocence

By MysticPhantasy

Chapter 1

(A/N: Hello and welcome again to another collaborative story between MysticFireBlood and Phinal Phantasy. This time we're writing our first sentai fic together. Phinal Phantasy watched Magiranger when it was first available with subtitles and recently rewatched it to introduce MysticFireBlood to it. We just finished watching it recently and both have a few fic ideas. This one was one we thought we could do together. Please note that this story takes place after the series so **MAJOR SPOILERS APPLY.**)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters)

The Ozu family had just defeated the Absolute God N. Ma after an incredibly desperate battle. The power of their magic was truly infinite and was more than the magic-eating demon lord could ingest, causing his death in a large explosion that also scattered golden magic particles to the three worlds of Magitopia, the surface world (earth) and Infershia. All eight members of the family were celebrating their victory at a beach looking out towards the horizon thinking about the way they've all grown in the past year...

Meanwhile in Infershia, Sphinx, the new ruler of the underworld who recently saw the error of her comrades' ways, was gathering the remaining Zobil to help rebuild their world, this time with the intent on living in peace with both the surface and Magitopia. It was her observations of the Ozu family and the fact that they kept winning their battles, no matter how desperate, that caused her to question her ways and eventually guided her towards the path of peace and coexistence. Her hopes were brightened by the golden magic particles that still descended on her world. She turned to Nai and Mare, her right hand people to look around further and see if they could find anything that could help them with their efforts. The two vampires wandered around for a few minutes in the caverns and noticed a large number of the magic particles were condensing together in one large human-sized golden cloud.

"What's going on here?" Nai said out of curiosity.

"Looks like it's trying to make something," Mare suggested.

"It looks beautiful…shall we help it along?" Nai asked.

"Yes let's help it," Mare agreed. They cast the same power they used to revive Sphinx, Blagel, and Sungel at the shining cloud and it began to contract and solidify into what looked like a glowing human body, hovering in mid air. As it descended to the ground the glow faded and the two vampires were able to get a good look at him. It was pretty obvious it was a him because the guy was completely naked. Shocked Nai and Mare averted their gaze immediately.

"Whoa didn't see that coming," Nai said.

"I didn't see that either," Mare said.

"Uhhh…where am I?" the guy behind them said starting to stand up.

"Ummm…you're in Infershia," Nai replied.

"Infershia," Mare added.

"Huh…" he said looking around, "Ah yes. This place is looking familiar now," then he turned to the two vampires, "Nai and Mare? That you?"

"Umm…yes I'm Nai," she said.

"And I'm Mare," she replied.

"Why are you two facing that way, there's nothing there," the young man asked.

"Because you're naked!" Nai replied blushing.

"Naked!" Mare added also blushing.

"Oh I'm sorry…can you get me something to wear then?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I guess we should," Nai said.

"Yeah we should," Mare agreed. They closed their eyes but faced the young man and used a simple power to make clothes materialize on his body.

"Now let us get a good look at you," Nai smiled.

"Look at you," Mare smiled. They opened their eyes and looked the young man over. He looked like he was in his late teens or early twenties. His hair was the most distinguishing feature. It was spiky and white, but not like an elderly person's hair, it looked naturally bright and youthful. His eyes were dark brown and seemed to express gentleness and an intense curiosity. The clothes the two vampires picked out were very similar in style to what they wore themselves. He had a skin-tight black t-shirt and black leather pants with a small chain coming from the waist above his left leg and ending at its left pocket. He was also wearing black leather boots. Nai's personal touch added a purple star design just below his left eye and Mare's personal touch made his fingernails black.

"Wow you look great!" Nai said.

"Looks great!" Mare agreed.

"But who are you?" Nai asked.

"You know us but do we know you?" Mare asked.

"You don't recognize me?" he asked but after looking himself over, "I guess not. I don't recognize myself either," he looked down a bit and then Mare seeing his hair from that angle and hearing his voice clearly had an epiphany.

"Hey it's Titan-sama!" Mare exclaimed happily.

"Titan-sama?" Nai asked, "You're right it does sound like him!"

"Yes it's me," Titan smiled and looked up at Nai and Mare, "but I don't know how. Last thing I remember is Dagon striking me down and N. Ma bursting from my body…"

"Who cares?" Nai said, "It's great to have you back!"

"Have you back!" Mare added.

"So what happened between my death and now…did N. Ma win? Or did Houka-chan and her family defeat him?" Titan asked.

"There's so much to tell you!" Nai smiled.

"Tell you…let's take him to Sphinx-sama!" Mai said. Each of the girls took one of his hands and led him back to their leader.

"Sphinx-sama! We brought a surprise!" Nai said when they got close enough.

"A surprise," Mare echoed.

"Really?" Sphinx smiled at them, "What is it?"

"It's not a 'what' it's a 'who,'" Nai said. Then they brought Titan over to see Sphinx.

"Hello Sphinx," Titan nodded at her.

"Well who do we have here?" Sphinx asked, "A human wandering around Infershia that's _not_ one of the magicians?"

"Take a closer look, Sphinx-sama…he's special," Nai insisted.

"Special!" Mare smiled.

Sphinx peered through her glasses looking the young man over and when she saw his hair and the expression in his eyes she gasped, "Can it be true?" she asked.

"Yes Sphinx, it's me," Titan smiled.

"Titan! This is incredible!" Sphinx cheered, "We all saw you die. How is this possible?!"

"I don't know," Titan admitted.

"Nai, Mare, how'd you find him?" Sphinx asked.

"Those magical sparks that were falling…a lot of them gathered in one spot forming a cloud," Nai said.

"And we thought it was trying to make something so we used our power to help it along and here he is," Mare smiled and gestured with her arms towards Titan.

"It's a miracle," Sphinx said softly, "I wonder if the magicians are responsible," she thought out loud, "I don't think anything is impossible if it's them at work."

"Maybe we should ask them," Nai suggested.

"Ask them," Mare agreed.

"I would like to see Houka-chan and Nii-chan again," Titan admitted.

"Alright then. The Ozu family told us where they live now, why don't the three of you pay them a visit and give them my best," Sphinx ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Nai and Mare said simultaneously.

"Titan…it's good to have you back regardless of how," Sphinx added, smiling at her friend.

"It's good to be back," Titan smiled back.

(A/N: Well we hope you enjoyed that first chapter. Please leave us some reviews to let us know what you think. Next chapter Titan is reintroduce to the Ozu family. How will they react to this incredible development?)


	2. Chapter 2

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Courage and Innocence

By MysticPhantasy

Chapter 2

(A/N: Thanks to KiAnson and Hallwings for their positive reviews on this story. We hope that there will be more readers soon. Well we hope you'll enjoy this next chapter)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters)

It was almost noon at the Ozu home. Their day so far had been extremely busy. Makito was working hard in his garden which he affectionately called Aniki Farms. This time, however, his father Isamu was out helping him. He wasn't around for any of his children for the past 15 years and even though it wasn't his fault, he still felt responsible and a little guilty that he wasn't there, despite the fact that they all turned out alright. Isamu planned on spending a lot of time with each of his children in the days ahead. Tsubasa went out for a jog all day, getting his body ready so he can try to get back into his favorite hobby, boxing. Hikaru went to Magitopia early that morning, saying he had a surprise for the family, but promised to be back in time for lunch with them. Kai was at school, just starting the spring semester, finally able to concentrate on his school work, not that it would matter according to his siblings. Miyuki was busy cooking everyone else lunch, surprised that Urara wasn't there helping her. Houka explained that she and her sister wanted to work on something together and that it had to do with Hikaru-sensei's surprise for everyone, so their mother let them go about their day. As she was cooking, Tsubasa came back in.

"Hello Kaa-san," he smiled, jogging in place and punching the air in front of him, "I really worked up an appetite today. Will lunch be ready soon?"

"Yes it will, Tsubasa," Miyuki smiled at him, "but you should shower and change before you eat."

"Okay, Kaa-san, I'll be down in 5 minutes," he said rushing up the stairs.

"Isamu-san! Makito! Lunch will be ready soon. Come in and clean up before you eat!"

Makito smiled energetically and got up; clapping his hands to get the initial dirt out, then held out his hand to help his father up.

"Tou-san did you like working the garden with me?" Makito asked.

"Very much. I can see why you're so passionate about this and why it did so good to support our family while I was away," Isamu replied, accepting his son's help. The two of them walked back in the house and waited until Tsubasa was done, then Makito went in and then 10 minutes later came out and his father went in. Meanwhile Tsubasa went to his sister's room.

"Hou-nee, Ura-nee, lunch is almost ready! What are you two up to in there anyway?" he began to crack the door open.

"DON'T OPEN THAT!" his sisters shouted, taking Tsubasa aback.

"Okay okay, sorry, I was just curious. Just get ready for lunch then." Once the guys were done in the shower and the girls came down, they all gathered at the family table to begin lunch.

"Where's Hikaru-sensei?" Makito asked. Despite the fact that Hikaru was now his brother-in-law, he wasn't used to calling him anything else yet.

"He should be here in a few minutes," Urara said, "Can we wait for him please?"

"Of course, Urara," Isamu nodded to his daughter.

"It's still so awesome that you and Hikaru-sensei are married now!" Houka said brightly. Just then they heard the sound of someone coming out of the magic room and walking towards the kitchen.

"Did someone mention me?" Hikaru asked as he entered the room. The family all smiled at seeing their newest addition as he went around the table to give Urara a soft kiss before sitting next to her, "Well everyone's here except for Kai…I was hoping he'd be here because Urara and I have an important announcement."

"Well Kai is starting back at school today," Miyuki said, "I'm sure whatever it is can wait until Kai gets home."

"No it's hard enough as it is, the longer I wait, the more likely I'll…lose my nerve," Hikaru blushed.

"Well then, what is it?" Isamu asked, giving his son-in-law his full attention and the gaze he used on Hikaru back when he was his student.

"Well…Tou-san," Hikaru started, trying to get used to calling his old teacher a new name, "Since Urara and I are now married, we would like to move out."

"WHAT?!" all of the guys at the table shouted at once.

"Is this true, Urara?!" Isamu asked, sounding a little harsh.

"How can you do such a thing without consulting us?" Makito demanded.

"I'll miss you too much, Ura-nee," Tsubasa admitted.

"Yes everyone, it's true. Now that Infershia is no longer our enemy, I don't see why we all _have_ to still live together," Urara replied, "Besides, wouldn't it be awkward for all of us trying to live with us being married and trying to find some time to spend alone as a couple? Don't Hikaru and I deserve our privacy and a chance to start our own lives?"

"Hikaru…I approved of your marriage to my daughter because you've been like a son to me anyways, but I haven't seen Urara in 15 years and I don't appreciate you trying to take her away from me so soon," Isamu chided.

"Now Isamu-san," Miyuki said, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder, "try to be calm. I'm sure that's not what they had in mind."

"We won't be so far away that we can't visit each other often," Hikaru said, "We're going to be living in Magitopia. Just a Magiticket away!" he smiled, hoping to calm his new in-laws down.

"Really?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yep. I'm having Smokey help prepare our house while I came to explain things," Hikaru replied, then turned to his sister-in-law, "Houka-chan…you haven't said anything…how do you feel about this."

"Oh I think it's great! Urara-chan's always been so shy, I'm very happy that she had the courage to confess her feelings to you and I'm happy for you both that you got married," Urara replied smiling, "I've been helping Urara-chan pack all this time."

"So that's why you didn't want me to come in," Tsubasa said.

"You mean you knew the whole time and didn't say anything?" Makito asked Houka.

"Well it wasn't my place to say anything," Houka replied, "I didn't want to get you all mad at them…"

"Well…when do you plan on moving out, Urara?" Isamu asked.

"Tonight after dinner," she replied.

"Can you at least wait a few days?" her father pleaded, no longer seeming angry, but sad that he may lose his daughter again so soon.

"Well I guess we can think…" Hikaru was interrupted by a rapid knocking on their door.

"Well I wonder who that could be," Miyuki said, glad for the interruption as it could give everyone time to calm down. She walked to their house's front entrance and opened it up, "Hello there," she smiled.

"Hello it's Nai!" Nai said, cheerfully waving at Miyuki

"And Mare too!" Mare smiled and waved.

"It's good to see you two. Would you like to come in?" Miyuki asked.

"We have a surprise for you," Nai said.

"A surprise," Mare echoed, "We'd like to show everyone at once.

"Okay then," Miyuki said, "Come on in behind me and I'll get everyone's attention." She led them into the main dining room where everyone was waiting for her.

"Who was it?" Isamu asked.

"It's our new friends," Miyuki replied, "Come on in," she encouraged.

"Nai! Mare! It's nice to see you again," Urara smiled.

"What brings you to our humble home?" Makito asked.

"We have a surprise for you," Nai smiled.

"A wonderful surprise," Mare insisted, "Come on in!" she called to her friend waving him over.

The Ozu family looked on as the young man close in age to the siblings entered into the room, a little shyly, "Hello everyone," he said.

"Well hello there," Houka smiled, "It's nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Nai and Mare?" she asked.

"I'm your friend too, Houka-chan," he smiled at her.

"Are you sure? I would remember meeting someone as cute as you," Houka winked, causing him to blush. Then he held out his hand and Houka shook it gently.

"I remembered what you taught me...when you shake hands with someone, you're friends with them," he smiled at her. Houka looked surprised at that statement.

"Afro-kun? Is that really you?" Houka asked looking at him closer, then her expression brightened and she had a cheerful smile on her face, but was in a bit of shock.

"Afro-kun? You mean Titan?" Makito asked, looking at him.

"Hello Nii-chan," Titan smiled at him holding out his hand for him to shake as well. When he did, the realization hit him as well.

"It is you! But how? We saw you die when N. Ma revived. And how are you human?" Makito asked, but his train of thought was interrupted.

"AFRO-KUN!" Houka rushed at him and gave him a bear hug, but then pulled away a bit and patted his hair, "Well...maybe not Afro-kun anymore...more like Spiky-kun," she smiled.

Titan smiled back at Houka, "Do you like the way I look now?" he asked.

"Oh very much," Houka replied, "You look great."

"But that still doesn't answer the question of how this happened," Hikaru pointed out.

"Actually we were hoping you could tell us," Nai admitted.

"We thought it was your magic," Mare told them, "The same magic that defeated N. Ma somehow revived Titan-sama as a human...with a little help from the two of us."

"Well if it did, we didn't know about it. We're as surprised as you probably were," Tsubasa said.

"But isn't it great that he's back?" Houka said, "He was such a great guy, it really hurt when he died, after just learning how great life could be...and it made me very sad..." she started to cry at the memory and Titan frowned.

"What is this? Is everything alright Houka-chan...your face is leaking." That caused Houka to cheer up a bit and laugh slightly.

"You've never seen someone cry before?" Miyuki asked, "It's what happens when a human is overcome with strong emotion. In this case, Houka-chan was very sad at the memory of losing you."

"Oh...I was sad too when I knew what had to be done, and even sadder when it didn't work. I was so scared that N. Ma would destroy my new friends and their world," Titan replied, "But it looks like you won. I'm glad you are safe."

"I remember," Isamu said, "During the final battle, Magiel said that if we combine all of our magic at once, a miracle would happen. I thought she was referring to N. Ma's defeat, but maybe that was only part of it. Maybe we should go to see her and see what she has to say about this," he suggested.

"How about after we all eat," Miyuki said, "It took me a while to prepare this meal and you were hungry when you came into the house," she reminded them, and turned to their guests, "You're welcome to eat with us, especially you Titan-kun...since you've probably never eaten before, you're probably starving," she smiled and then his stomach growled.

"Well...my stomach is making noises and I feel weak. I just thought it's a side effect of being reborn," Titan said.

"I can see you have a lot to learn," Urara added.

"Well we can teach him right?" Houka said energetically looking at the rest of her family.

"Well...let's see what Magiel has to say first," Isamu said, then Houka gave him the "cute look."

"Please Tou-san," Houka pleaded.

"Leave Tou-san alone. He's right," Tsubasa said.

"What do you know Tsu-nii," Houka stuck her tongue at him, then looked back at her father with the cute look again, "Pleeeeeeeeease. I promise he won't be a bother."

"It's not like he's a pet," Isamu said.

"I know he's not a pet!" Houka whined, "But he is my friend and has nowhere else to go and no one else to teach him."

"We can teach him," Nai suggested.

"We can teach him a lot!" Mare added.

"You can help, but since he's human, don't you think he should learn about the human world?" Makito asked.

"We'll all go to see Magiel...after lunch...if everything's alright, he can stay with us," Isamu said.

"YAY!" Houka kissed her father on the cheek and then put an arm around Titan, "Welcome to the family, Spiky-kun!"

"I can see that Houka-chan still has you wrapped around her finger," Miyuki smiled at her husband.

"I don't know what you mean," Isamu pouted back...

(A/N: We hope you enjoyed that chapter and look forward to the next one. The Ozu family will be returning to Magitopia with their new friend and ask how the heck Titan came back to life and what to do with him.)


	3. Chapter 3

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Courage and Innocence

By MysticPhantasy

Chapter 3

(A/N: Thanks again to KiAnson and Hallwings for their positive reviews on this story. Sorry it took so long to update this time. We were working on our solo fics for a while, but we didn't forget about this one. We hope that there will be more readers soon. Well we hope you'll enjoy this chapter.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters)

Several hours later, after Kai got out of school and his family updated him on what happened with Titan, they all decided to go to Magitopia together. Travelion arrived at Magitopia, finally restored to its divine beauty after N. Ma's assault. When the train stopped, Lunagel was waiting patiently as Hikaru, Isamu, Miyuki, and the rest of the family disembarked from the gigantic train. Titan and Nai and Mare were behind them, but staying on the train out of shyness.

Lunagel smiled at her old friends, "Welcome back to Magitopia Ozu Family. We weren't expecting you. Has something happened?" she asked.

"You could say that," Isamu said gesturing to Titan.

"You know it's forbidden for mortals to set foot here," Lunagel pointed out.

"Then what are we?" Kai pointed out gesturing to his siblings and mother.

"We've made you an exception," Lunagel replied, "You've definitely proven your worth to us…but the ones with you haven't yet."

"Nai and Mare revived both me and Blagel after N. Ma killed us," Hikaru replied, "As far as I'm concerned they've proven their worth to me."

"I will vouch for them as well," Isamu nodded, "As for our other companion…he's the reason why we're here."

"I'll vouch for him if it's necessary," Houka said seriously, taking the others aback a bit at her tone.

"And so will I," Makito said.

"Very well," Lunagel said, "So what makes him so special that you're willing to go so far?" she asked.

"He used to be one of the Infershian Gods…Titan-sama," Nai explained.

"You're bringing such a person here?!" Lunagel sounded like she was about to blow up at them.

"He died trying to prevent N. Ma's resurrection after learning the true value of life," Houka said, "I knew he wasn't evil the moment I got the chance to meet him."

"It was Houka-chan who showed me the error of the ways I followed before," Titan said looking down.

"We don't know how he revived, so we came to ask Arch-Saint Magiel if she knew," Miyuki said, "Can we have an audience with her?"

Lunagel nodded, "Okay then, follow me." The Heavenly Saint led them to the throne room of the giant Arch-Saint Magiel, who was looking down at her guests with curiosity.

"It warms my heart to see you again, but I didn't send for you. Why have you come?" Magiel asked, "and who are my new guests?"

"I'm Nai," Nai introduced herself.

"And I'm Mare…Nice to meet you Magiel-sama."

"Well aren't you two polite," she replied in an almost grandmotherly tone, "I know what you did for Blagel and Sungel, so no need to be so shy. You are most welcome here." Nai and Mare smiled and giggled and curtseyed at her.

"We wanted to talk about what you said during the final battle with N. Ma," Hikaru said, "You said if we all used our magic together a miracle would occur."

"Yes and a miracle did happen didn't it?" Magiel smiled slightly with a twinkle in her eye.

"Well we thought the miracle you referred to was the defeat of N. Ma," Kai said, "And that golden magic snow that fell on all three worlds."

"But something else happened, didn't it?" Magiel continued to smile.

"Some of that snow started to group together into a thick cloud down in Infershia," Nai said, "It looked like it was trying to make something."

"And with our power to help it along, it became a person," Mare finished gesturing to Titan, "It brought Titan-sama back to life…as a human!" she cheered and hugged him causing him to blush.

"Well we thought it was the magic of the Ozu family that did that but they said they didn't know," Titan said softly, "So we came to see if you knew what happened."

Magiel continued to smile in that knowing way of hers, "Well I've been watching over the surface world ever since I first met you siblings. At first I didn't because I trusted you to be able to handle your own battles with just the magic we grant you, but I realize that sometimes you may need more help than that and you worked hard to protect Magitopia as well as your own world, so I kept an eye on you and lent a hand from time to time."

"Like when?" Tsubasa asked out of curiosity.

"Like when you first received the Legend Power," Lunagel said, "Magiel-sama knew what would happen if those powers overwhelmed you, so she informed me to warn you." The siblings all nodded in remembrance of the time they were scared of their own powers and losing their bond.

"Anyways, I paid even more attention when the Infershian Gods showed up, since they could have been the Doom of us all," Magiel continued, "But when I saw how Houka-chan dealt with Titan, I was shocked…and for someone as old and wise as me, that's a rare thing indeed," she smiled at the older sister of the family and looked at her directly, "When you actually got Titan to cancel his Divine Punishment and also taught him the value of life, I was very much intrigued. You were dealing with one of your most powerful enemies in a way that rarely works but is very much worth it when it does…you made him your friend. You even went so far as to protect him from his former comrades when they attacked him and also convinced your brother to do the same. And it was good to see that his heart truly changed, because otherwise he wouldn't have risked so much when his body became the vessel for N. Ma's resurrection," she then turned to look at Titan directly, "You were willing to put yourself in harm's way and also willing to sleep eternally, a fate almost as bad as death, in order to protect your new friends and their world. When it didn't work and you were killed by Dagon," she looked a little saddened, "I felt that you suffered a great injustice…and during the final battle with N. Ma, I saw the chance to correct that injustice," she addressed the entire group this time, "I knew that it would take all of your magic combined to finally defeat N. Ma and that opened up the door to a few miracles: the defeat of N. Ma…that caused the golden snow…and the golden snow provided a _chance_ to bring back your friend, Houka-chan. Since it was Titan's body that essentially gave birth to N. Ma, part of him was still in that terrible demon's body. The golden snow was what was left of N. Ma's body, which was now made of pure good magic. So essentially what was left of Titan's body was also converted to that form, but gathering the right 'snowflakes' would be a hard task and that was only the first step…that is where another friend of yours came in Houka-chan."

"Another friend?" Houka looked confused…until they were joined by what looked like a large pink fairy, "Wingel!" Houka smiled ecstatically at the Saint whose power she drew from.

"Since you were closest to Titan and I am the Heavenly Saint that's closest to you, I was the best chance at getting this to work," Wingel explained, "I worked quickly, having to move faster than the eye can see and gathered the right 'snowflakes' into one spot, but Magiel-sama also instructed me to gather them in Infershia since that's where Nai and Mare were and their power was needed to finish what I started and the rest you know," she said happily.

Houka smiled brightly and ran over to Wingel and hugged her tightly, "Thank you so much Wingel!" then she ran to Magiel's leg and hugged it.

"What the?" Magiel was taken by surprise.

"Thank you Magiel-sama!" Then Magiel noticed her other leg was being hugged by Titan.

"This is what you do when you're really happy and grateful isn't it Houka?" he asked smiling.

"Yes it is Titan," Houka smiled back at her friend. Then Titan went to hug Wingel and thank her too.

"He's like a big kid," Miyuki observed.

"In a lot of ways, he _is_ a child," Magiel replied, "All he knew was his knowledge as an Infershian God, which became obsolete, and he now knows what Houka-chan taught him. That's it. It will be up to you and your family to teach him what he needs to know."

"What?" Everyone shouted at once.

"Why do you think I arranged things so that he came back as a human? He started to love the surface world, so I thought that when we gave him his second chance, he should live there and being human would make that a lot easier on him," Magiel replied, "You can also look on this as a second chance to be a father Blagel if you'd like."

"It's a lot to think about," Isamu replied.

"He needs a family and Houka and even Makito are so attached to him," Miyuki said, "and he's starting to grow on me too."

"Where will we put him? Our house is full," Kai said.

"You'll have the room once Hikaru-sensei and I move out," Urara pointed out.

"WHAT?" Kai said, "Since when?"

"A few days from now…didn't we tell you?" Hikaru asked.

"No we didn't. In all the excitement in explaining what happened with Titan, we completely forgot to fill him in on that detail…sorry Kai-chan," Urara laughed lightly.

"I wish I was graduated already so I don't miss out on these family meetings," Kai grumbled.

"Alright Tou-san," Houka said seriously, looking her father in the eye, "Now that we've heard what Magiel-sama said...and she basically said the same things I told you...and you _promised_…we're taking him in," she said sincerly

"I did promise that didn't I?" Isamu sighed and held out his hand towards Titan.

"Are we friends?" he asked shyly.

"More. We're going to be family," Isamu replied as Titan shook his hand and then Miyuki gave him a hug.

"Yay! Thank you so much Tou-san. Kaa-san," Houka said smiling brightly at her parents.

(A/N: Now that Titan has been officially accepted into the Ozu family, they need to teach him all the things he'll need to be human. What will his first lessons be? Find out next chapter. Reviews are always welcome.)


	4. Chapter 4

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Courage and Innocence

By: MysticPhantasy

Chapter 4

((AN: Sorry it's been forever since we updated, but with work and the holidays, it was a little hard. We hope you like this new chapter.))

((Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters))

After arriving home from their visit to Magitopia and saying good-bye to Nai and Mare for the day, Houka came up with a wonderful idea.

"We need to have a massive party!" she exclaimed.

Everyone looked at her weirdly, "What do you mean Houka-chan?" asked her mother.

"Well, now that Titan-kun is living with us and Hikaru-sensei and Urara-chan are moving out, we need to have a birthday/wedding/moving out party," she explained.

"Birthday party?" Kai asked.

"Yes silly, birthday as in the celebration of one's birth," Houka explained as if she was talking to a child.

"I know what a birthday party is Hou-nee, but who's? None of ours are for a few more months," replied Kai, slightly annoyed at his sister for thinking he was a child.

"Titan-kun's of course," Houka replied with a large smile.

"Let me get this straight, you want to have a birthday party for someone…who's never celebrated one," replied Tsubasa.

"It's _because_ he's never had one is why we should celebrate it!" Houka insisted.

Makito replied, "I think it's a wonderful idea!" then he walked over to her and hugged her with one arm.

Tsubasa whispered to Kai, "Of course he would,' and Kai laughed a little.

Miyuki replied, "As do I. Do you have any plans for this party Houka-chan?"

Houka thought for a moment, "Well, we could use the magic room since it's the largest room in the house and we could have a large cake and gifts. We could also invite Nai and Mare since they are partly responsible for his being here and they are our friends now."

"What about Sphinx? She's our friend too," added Hikaru, now getting into the spirit.

"Wait, you too Hikaru-sensei?" said Kai.

"Why not. The boy needs stuff and so do we. Besides, if you remember, we didn't get to have a wedding shower or anything."

Kai stop to think about that, "Oh, yeah. I guess you are right, but what should we get him. In fact, what should we get you? Can't you just use magic?"

"If we used magic to solve all of our problems, then we will never learn anything. Besides Kai, this isn't like you," replied Isamu.

"Well, no, it's just all these changes…they are just so fast."

Isamu put his hand on his youngest shoulder, "I know what you mean. When I left you and your mother, brothers, and sisters, you were just a baby, but now you are grown up and about to finish high school."

Kai looked at his dad. He smiled a little, "I guess these little changes are nothing compared to what you are experiencing."

Isamu smiled as his son, "Now I think you are starting to understand a little. So, what do you say? Help your sister with the party planning?"

"WHAT?! Why do I have to help? Doesn't understanding get me anything?!" he replied with a shocked expression.

Isamu's smile grew even larger, "I am your father and you will do as I say."

"But…alright. I'll help."

Tsubasa stood back and snickered at his little brother, until their father spoke up, "You too Tsubasa-chan."

"What?!" Tsubasa whined.

Isamu gave his second youngest son the same look, "You too."

"Yes sir," Tsubasa replied while Kai took a turn to laugh.

Then Titan spoke up, "You are going to have a birthday party for me?"

Houka smiled, "Yep. We are going to get you things that you need like clothes, things for your room, maybe some games and movies."

"But what's a wedding shower?" he asked.

"Well you see, just before the defeat of N. Ma, my sister Urara and Hikaru-sensei got married, but everything moved so fast, we couldn't get them anything, but now that they are moving out, we are going to go and get them something."

"Oh, what would you get two people who are married?"

Houka thought for a moment, "Well, I guess whatever they need." Then she turned to her sister and asked, "What do you need?"

Urara thought for a moment, "Well, I am not sure how things up there work, so I don't know what to tell you."

Hikaru spoke up, "It runs just like here."

"Really? Wow, that's neat. Then I guess I need everything," Urara joked.

"Alright, well then later you and I will go to the store and get you registered. Kai, you and Tsubasa will go and get the party favors and the cake. Makito, take Titan to the mall and have him try on different things and check to see what he may like and let us know and then we will get them for him. Is that everything?"

"When would you like to do this?" asked her mother.

Houka thought for a moment to see if her sister said when she would like to move out, "Um, this weekend?"

"Wait, this weekend? I have a date!" Kai whined.

Everyone stopped and looked at the youngest, "You have what now?" Tsubasa.

"I asked Yuka-chan out and she said yes," Kai blushed.

"Who?" asked the family.

"Yamazaki-san," he replied in a mumble.

"Oh my goodness! You finally asked her out?! And you're on a first name basis with her?! Very impressive!" Houka exclaimed.

"Oh looky there, is Kai as red as his uniform?" Makito picked.

"Shut up Aniki!" Kai yelled, getting ever redder, if that was possible.

Tsubasa laughed, "It's about time."

Kai wanted to have a comeback, but their father put a stop to that.

"Enough you three, now, go do as your sister asked," he said.

"More like ordered," mumbled Tsubasa as he left the house.

XXX

A few hours later, while Houka and Urara were looking around in the mall, Houka's phone went off. She looked at the Caller ID and smiled, "Moshi Moshi!"

Urara rolled her eyes, they were in the middle of planning a huge party, leave it to her sister to still find time to talk to a boyfriend, but what surprised her the most was, what her sister said.

"No, sorry I can't…Yeah, my sister just got married and we are having a wedding shower for her before she moves…Where...um…the States…Yeah, that's it…She and her husband are moving somewhere in the States…Yeah, it's kind of far, but he's got a good job and they can come home whenever they want…Yeah, but maybe next weekend. I'll call you back and let you know. Okay, bye."

"The States?" Urara asked.

"I had to think of something and well, he would fit perfectly there," she smiled.

"Whatever. Anyways, you actually turned down a date? Why?" Urara asked with an impressed tone.

"Well, you are my little sister and I wanted to do something special for you,' Houka smiled, a small tear falling down her cheek.

Urara smiled back and hugged her older sister, "Thank you Hou-nee."

Houka hugged her back, "Come on, let's see how well the boys are doing."

"Yeah, let's go," Urara replied and she and Houka left the store.

When they got home, they heard a commotion from the magic room.

Houka looked at Urara, "Oh god, they killed each other!"

Urara laughed, "It was only a matter of time. Come on, let's see what's going on," then she stepped though to the room.

When they entered they saw the room was a mess. Decorations were thrown everywhere on the floor and the few that were hanged were done haphazardly, "What on earth did you two do to the magic room?!" Urara demanded.

Kai, who had a Happy Birthday banner around his neck, lowered his Magi Phone that he had pointed at his brother, "Nothing…much. Just doing what Jii-nee asked," he replied, blushing. He knew he was caught.

"Yeah right. He was trying to mess everything up, like usual and he drew his Magi Phone at me!" Tsubasa replied.

"Because you wouldn't let me put this where I wanted it. It's a combination party. As in two different parties in one. Besides, you know we need banners."

"You could have gotten one that matched the one I bought for the wedding shower, but no. You bought that!" Tsubasa replied, pointing to the offending banner.

"Um, it's a birthday party. They are supposed to be loud and colorful."

"I am sure if you looked you could have found a pastel colored one, but as usual, you messed up."

"Did not!" Kai yelled.

"Did too, you even bought a disco ball! What on earth for?"

"Reflection of colors dumb ass!" Kai yelled, raising his Magi Phone again.

Tsubasa raised his and just as they were about to fire a spell at each other, Urara took them from her brothers, "You can have them back, when you get done. Now, you have to finish it without magic."

They both looked shocked at their sister, but she held her look on them. Soon they knew they were defeated and went to work.

Urara sighed and left the room, "I am starting to wonder if it's a good idea to leave."

Houka hugged her, "You need to start your life with your husband and now that Kaa-san and Tou-san are back, you don't have to baby-sit them anymore."

Urara smiled, "Thank you Hou-nee. That means a lot to me."

Houka let go of her sister, "After everything you have done for us, it was the least I can do."

Just then Makito and Titan came back, "Everything okay Urara-chan?" Makito asked his little sister.

She sighed, "Yeah, just the usual Kai and Tsubasa wanting to kill each other. Now that I think about it, I think I will be happy once I leave. I won't have to put up with it."

"I can understand. They have a way of getting to a person. Anyways, we are done browsing and we believe we figured out what Titan-kun would like for his birthday."

Houka smiled at Titan, "Did you enjoy yourself Titian-kun?"

He smiled at her, "Yes I did."

She returned the smile, "That's good. I can't wait to see what you picked out."

He smiled again at her, "I can't wait for you to see either."

XXX

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Miyuki and Isamu were working on dinner when she noticed her husband was crying a little.

"Isamu-san, what's wrong?" she asked in her sweet voice.

"Nothing. It's the onions," he replied, wiping his eyes.

"It's not nothing. It's Urara-chan moving out, isn't it?" she said as she hugged him from behind.

He put the knife down and leaned into her hug, "Yes. I am not going to lie to you. I don't want her to leave. I have missed so much in 15 years and now all of these changes are happening. I am trying, but it's hard."

She stepped around and took his hands into her smaller ones, "I feel the same. They didn't have me for nearly a year, but they did so well for themselves."

He smiled, "I know, but I still have this feeling. It was like I was feeding her at her highchair and then next thing I know, she is married and moving out."

"I know, but we still have the other four and now we have Titan-kun, a fresh start."

He smiled at his wife, "Why is it you know of all the right things to say?"

"I am you wife and your lover. I know you better than you know yourself," she smiled.

He smiled back, "That you do and I love you for it."

She reached up and wiped the remainder of his tears, "We will make it."

He bent down and kissed her, "Yes we will. I love you Miyuki."

"And I love you Isamu," she replied, kissing him back.

A few minutes later they were finished. "Children, Dinner time!" Miyuki called.

Kai came out of the magic room, hair a mess and what looked like a black eye.

Houka looked at him annoyed, "Did you finish?" Just then Tsubasa came out, smiling, "Yeah. Just now."

"I swear you two," Houka huffed as she followed the others to the dinning room for dinner.

(A/N: Well we hope you enjoyed this chapter. We know we didn't use Titan that much this time, but since Urara and Hikaru are moving out, we figured we'd focus on them for the next chapter or two cause after that they won't have as big a part. Next chapter it's the big party and there will be a surprise guest no one was expecting.)


	5. Chapter 5

Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Courage and Innocence

By: MysticPhantasy

Chapter 5

(A/N: We sincerely apologize for taking so long to update this story, but a recent illness in MysticFireBlood's family has preoccupied both of us for a while and we had to take a trip to her home for a week and a half. Anyways, we will try to be better in updating in the future and we hope that this chapter will be worth the wait. This chapter is a lot longer than our usual ones. We hope that helps make up for the wait as well.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters)

It had been a few days since the Ozu family bought all of the supplies needed for the party and set up the room. Now that the weekend was upon them, so was the big day. Hikaru and Urara and Titan were told to let the guests in. Soon the doorbell rang and their three guests arrived.

"Good afternoon!" Nai said cheerfully.

"Nai and Mare are here," Mare smiled at them, "And we brought Sphinx-sama with us."

"It is good to see you again," Sphinx nodded at her human friends.

"We're glad you could make it," Hikaru smiled at them.

"Please come on in," Urara insisted, "What's that behind you?" she noticed a pile of packages with the leader of Infershia.

"Oh these, they are the gifts we brought for you and your husband, as well as…my precious brother," Sphinx said.

"Brother?" Titan asked.

"I think that's the best way to describe our relationship," Sphinx smiled at him, "Even though you are human now and not one of the Infershian Gods, I still consider you my family."

"That's very sweet," Urara said, noticing Titan's smile, "Well anyways, welcome to our home. Do you need help getting those in?"

"I'll do it," Titan offered.

"That's not necessary. This party is partially for you, you shouldn't have to do any of the work," Hikaru said.

"We could use some help though," Nai said.

"Yeah it was a long way to get here carrying those," Mare added.

"Let's get my brothers to do it," Urara smiled, "Aniki! Tsu-nii! Kai-chan!" she called out.

"What is it?" Makito asked as soon as he arrived, Tsubasa in tow.

"Where's Kai-chan?" Urara asked.

"Don't know," Tsubasa replied, "He said something about 'needing to take care of something' and took off early this morning. He promised to be back in time for the party though."

"Well if he doesn't hurry up, he'll be late," Hikaru pointed out.

"So why'd you call us anyways?" Makito asked.

"Sphinx, Nai, and Mare need help carrying these items into the house, could you do it?" Urara asked sweetly.

"Well I guess since you asked so nicely," Tsubasa said. He nodded and Makito joined him to carry the items inside.

"Thank you, Makito," Nai said.

"Thank you too, Tsubasa," Mare added. Soon all of the items the Infershians brought were placed in the magic room and were soon followed by Hikaru, Urara, and Titan.

"Wow look at all these," Houka grinned when she saw the extra gifts brought for her family, "Please put them with the others," she gestured to a decent pile of gifts labeled for either Hikaru and Urara, or Titan, "We're all so glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Sphinx smiled back.

"Yeah it sounded like fun," Nai agreed.

"Fun," Mare echoed. They looked around and saw the decorations that were up. There was a colorful "Happy Birthday" banner below a "Congratulations Hikaru and Urara" banner. The table had a white tablecloth over it with thin stripes of the Magiranger's colors on it. The ceiling had a disco ball attached and there was a secondary table set up with Miyuki and Isamu setting various foods ranging from "Aniki Salad" to stir-fry to cake on it. Mandora-boy had been placed as a centerpiece so he could interact with everyone.

"Oh where's our manners," Isamu said after placing the last serving tray down, "Welcome to our home my friends."

"It is an honor Blagel-sama," Sphinx nodded.

"Please call me Isamu-san," Isamu insisted, "there's no need for formalities in this house. I believe you're already acquainted with my lovely wife."

"Yes we are. How are you doing Miyuki-san?"

"Very well thank you," Miyuki smiled back.

"Thank you for inviting us," Nai said.

"You've really made us feel welcome," Mare agreed.

"Well I guess we should sit down and start the fun," Isamu said.

"What about Kai-kun?" Titan asked.

"We can wait a few more minutes I guess," Urara said. Just then they heard the sound of someone entering the Magic Room.

"YO!" a grinning cat face peeped in half way through the wall, "The life of the party's just arrived!"

"Smokey!" Urara smiled and rushed the genie-like cat and gave him a big hug while dragging him inside playfully

"Guess you missed me huh Kaa-san," Smokey hugged her back.

"Kaa-san?" Urara asked.

"Well you are my Master's wife and I really feel safe with you protecting me so I think that'll work."

"I just thought it'd be a bit longer before someone calls me 'Kaa-san,'" Urara replied. Then Smokey turned to Hikaru.

"Master, your new home is all set up; we just need to move in your gifts after the party and you're good to go!"

"Thank you Smokey, but don't forget it's your home too."

"Oh don't worry, I saved the largest room for myself," Smokey grinned.

"Smokey!?" Urara put him in a head lock.

"Kidding! Kidding!" Smokey waved his hands in surrender.

"You better be or no fish for a week!" Urara replied.

"Kaa-san is harsh," Smokey muttered.

"She's learned from the best," Miyuki smiled at her younger daughter, "But don't worry, we have some fish for you," she turned her smile on Smokey, "Just don't call me 'Baa-chan' I'm not ready for that," she joked.

"Deal." Smokey said and made a bee-line for the fish and began to chow down.

"Can't you wait till Kai gets here?" Hikaru sighed. Just then they heard the sound of another person arriving.

"Sorry I'm late everyone!" Kai announced waving at everyone.

"Kai-chan, what kept you?" Isamu chided.

"Well…Yuka-chan and I had to have an important talk…and…"

"Did she break up with you for having to stand her up?" Houka asked worried.

"No not at all," Kai said steeping forward a bit, "You see…" the sound of someone else had entered the magic room and everyone there let out a gasp of shock as Yamazaki Yuka shyly waved at everyone.

"Good afternoon," Yuka said, bowing respectfully.

"Kai-chan you baka!" Makito shouted, causing Yuka to flinch and Kai wrapped his arm around her protectively, "Do you know what this means?!"

"Aniki? Why are you mad?" Titan asked.

"Because my idiot brother forgot that we aren't allowed to reveal our identities as Magirangers to anyone in the human world no matter how much we may want to," Makito replied, briefly thinking about his own girlfriend, Erika-chan, "this means that Kai will lose his magic and now possibly the rest of us since he brought her here. Do you have any idea what you have done?"

"Aniki please listen," Kai pleaded.

"I'm sorry Kai-chan, but I'll have to go with Aniki on this one," Tsubasa agreed, "I know what Yamizaki-chan means to you, but still…"

"Go easy on him. He's suffered this long by keeping this secret. I for one don't feel angry at him," Houka interrupted, "And besides I don't feel any different. I'm sure we'd know if our magic left us."

"I don't feel any different either," Urara said, "Not that I'm complaining, but why?"

"Please stop arguing," Yuka said, suddenly speaking out, "Kai-chan didn't tell me your secret. I figured it out on my own!" This silenced the rest of the siblings.

"What, Yuka-chan is very smart. It's one of the reasons I like her," Kai said proudly and he kissed her softly on the cheek causing her to blush. Then she began to explain.

"I kind of figured it out after the Red Magician...Kai-chan rescued me from Groom, but I kept my mouth shut for the most part. I almost let it slip one time when I was talking to you, Houka-san…or it was when Kai-chan and you traded bodies…anyways I thought there was a good reason why he wouldn't tell me and waited for a good time to approach him and let him know that I knew. After seeing you all defeat that huge demon, I believe you called him N. Ma, I figured it was the perfect time. I asked him out and he asked if I'd rather date the Red Magician. I told him I knew that he and the Red Magician were one and the same. He even tried to deny it, but after I told him about how I knew it was him who rescued me from Groom and also how I watched you all fight your final battle, cheering him on, he couldn't deny it any longer. Then when he told me he had an important family event to attend, I asked if I could come along so he could introduce us properly to each other."

"Well this explains why our magic hasn't left us," Miyuki said smiling.

"You aren't mad Kaa-san?" Makito asked, and he also noticed that Isamu was very calm, "Tou-san are you going to lecture him?"

"We'd be hypocrites if we did that," Isamu replied.

"After all, it's how your Tou-san and I got together," Miyuki explained, "I also loved your Tou-san from afar for a while and eventually learned on my own that he was a Heavenly Saint. That's when Magiel granted me the power of magic and we were allowed to be together."

"I am very happy that you found the same kind of happiness my son," Isamu nodded and put a hand on his youngest son's shoulder.

Kai grinned happily, "I'm glad you approve Tou-san, but we've just started dating, I don't think we're ready to talk about marriage yet."

"You don't think I'd make a good wife?" Yuka asked.

"It's not that…it's that I'm trying to be responsible," Kai replied.

"I wondered what it would take," Yuka joked causing everyone to laugh.

"Well time for introductions. These are my parents, Isamu and Miyuki, and these are my siblings Makito, Houka, Tsubasa, Urara and her husband Hikaru-sensei who's also our former magic tutor, and his magic cat servant, Smokey. Oh and in the flower pot is Mandora-boy, he's a talking Mandragora plant. Also these are Nai, Mare, Titan and Sphinx, they used to be bad guys, but they've changed and are now our good friends."

"It's nice to meet you all," Yuka bowed to each one of them as they were introduced.

"Welcome to our home Yuka-chan," Miyuki smiled, "Well now that everyone is here, let's get this party started," this caused everyone to cheer happily.

Over the next half hour, everyone was happily eating lunch together and getting to know their newer friends. After everyone was full, it was time for the guests of honor to open their gifts.

"Tou-san, could you take the pictures for us while we open these?" Urara asked.

"I'd love to," Isamu smiled at his daughter.

"Okay here's the first gift," Miyuki smiled and gave a large box to her daughter and son-in-law.

"Great let's open it together," Hikaru smiled. He and his wife tore open the paper to reveal several kitchen tools and appliances inside.

"Wow thanks Tou-san, Kaa-san," Urara smiled at them and moved to hug her mom, "Now I can teach Hikaru to cook."

"But you're so good at it," Hikaru replied.

"True but I won't be able to do it _all _the time," Urara grinned, "We're supposed to share the responsibilities after all."

"Okay okay I get the point…I love you Urara-chan," Hikaru smiled and kissed his wife on the cheek as Isamu clicked the camera.

"Perfect shot," Isamu grinned.

"This one is from us," Nai said.

"We hope you enjoy it," Mare added.

"Wow, the box is huge, what do you have in here, a new house?" Hikaru joked, "We already have that though."

"Just open it," Nai smiled. Together the couple opened up the large package and saw a karaoke set.

"Oh wow, this is awesome," Urara said.

"Nothing says 'romantic night' than singing karaoke together," Nai said.

"It's so much fun after all," Mare added.

"I'd hate to pry, but how'd you afford this?" Hikaru asked.

"Well we're not ones to brag but…" Nai started.

"We've sold a single!" Mare grinned happily.

"A single what?" Titan asked.

"A song we wrote," Nai began, "Apparently the time we held a concert, we got popular for more than one reason. Even without hypnosis, sorry about that again by the way Houka-chan, people loved our song."

"Oh I forgave you for that already," Houka said matter-of-factly, "And 'Bloody Friday Nightmare' is catchy. I'll admit I really liked it."

"So we've decided to try our hands at being idols in the near future," Mare said, "We'll be sure to give you all backstage passes in our first new concert, so I hope you'll be rooting for us."

"That sounds wonderful you guys," Urara smiled, "And thanks for this we'll definitely get a lot of use out of it."

"Now it's my turn! Open my gift I'm sure you'll like it!" Houka insisted.

"Sure. Let's see what our nee-chan gave us," Hikaru said. This package flat and long instead of just large as the last two were, and the happy pair tore away at the wrapping. Inside were a set of new bed sheets and blankets.

"This is great. Thanks Hou-nee," Urara said.

"Look under the sheets, there's something else," Houka winked. This caused Urara to have a questioning look. When she peeked underneath, the Magician of the Blue turned a bright shade of pink.

"I can't believe you did that," Urara said at her older sister.

"You're welcome," Houka smiled.

"What is it?" Makito asked.

"Yeah you're supposed to show everyone your presents," Kai said.

"How bad can it be?" Hikaru asked and he lifted up the blanket and snatched the item and held it up for all to see…it was a piece of light blue see-through lingerie. Everyone in the room turned as pink as Urara.

"Hikaru put that away!" Urara said snatching it back.

"What? I saw you admiring it when we went to the mall. I knew you'd never buy anything like that for yourself since you're so shy, so I got it for you. You haven't had your wedding night yet after all," Houka pointed out, "Thought I'd help you out."

"Umm…thanks…I don't know what to say…" Urara replied.

"MOVING ON!" Isamu said, not wanting to think of his daughter wearing anything like that, even if it was only for her husband.

"Well I promise you my present won't be like that," Makito said, "And don't let the size fool you." Makito's present was in a small bag.

"What's this Aniki?" Urara asked as she and Hikaru opened it.

"Those are some seeds to start your own garden like the one I made," Makito smiled at them, "Plus some plant food and a guide book. Now you can make your own 'Aniki Salad.'"

"But that doesn't mean we won't visit from time to time to enjoy yours," Urara smiled and hugged her brother.

"It will take some time to master gardening like you have," Hikaru added, "But we'll definitely try."

"And here's one from me, de goziamasu desu!" Mandora-boy shouted. He held out a leaf.

"What's this for?" Urara asked.

"You'll need a houseplant too right de goziamasu desu? This will let you grow your own Mandora de goziamasu desu!"

"I didn't know you could do that," Urara said surprised.

"It's actually a real honor to be offered a present like that," Hikaru explained, "It means he definitely considers us family."

"Well then, we'll accept your kind gift," Urara said patting the plant on his head.

"Last presents for Urara and Hikaru are from both of us," Kai and Tsubasa said together, carrying their gift which was in a larger box and a smaller one.

"So you two _can _get along when it counts," Hikaru joked. When he and Urara opened the small package, it was several portraits of the Ozu family over the past year. The larger package had some shelves to be put together later.

"Thank you both so much," Urara said placing one arm around each of them.

"These photos…they're of just the last year?" Hikaru asked.

"Just after you joined us actually. You're part of the family and we wanted to show it," Tsubasa said.

"Thank you both," Hikaru smiled at them.

"So how are we getting all this stuff back?" Urara asked.

"Leave that to me," Smokey replied, "I'll do all the mule work and setting up our home after we're done with this party. Consider that my present to you both."

"Thank you Smokey. We really appreciate it,"

"You're welcome," Smokey replied.

As the happy couple moved their things to the side, it was time for Titan to open his.

He smiled as he sat down in front of the presents. Houka smiled at him and sat beside of him, "I would like to help you if that's okay Titan-kun?" she asked.

"I would love it," he said.

"Alright, whenever you re ready," Isamu replied.

"We would like to go first," Nai said.

"Yes, please," Mare added.

"Alright," said Miyuki said.

They each handed him to boxes and he opened them. After the boxes where opened, Houka decided to put the bows on his head.

"Since you are truly a gift, you need bows," she said as she placed one on his head.

He smiled at her and blushed a little before looking into the box, "Wow, thanks you two," he said as he pulled out some more Goth clothes, some CDs and their single, "Bloody Fight Nightmare."

"You're welcome," said Nai.

"Yes welcome," repeated Mare as they both hugged him.

Then it was Makito's turn. He handed him three boxes of the same size, "There you go nii-chan," he said as he sat them down on Titan's lap.

Houka and Titan pulled hard to removed the ribbon on the first one and then he ripped the paper off and opened the box, "Thank you Aniki," he said as he held out an outfit that looked like it was bought straight out of a magazine. It was a sea green sweater vest, a white dress shirt, light gray pants with white dress shoes.

"Not a problem. Erika-chan helped me put the outfits together. She said something about everything needing to coordinate."

"She's right. Everything's got to match. I mean think about what we wear. Everything in our outfits match in one way or another," Houka pointed out.

"I get it," Makito moaned.

Titan finished opening the other two: the second outfit being an orange polo shirt with dark blue jeans and a pair of black tennis shoes; and the third being a red shirt with a black vest and black pants and shoe. Then he sat them aside and Miyuki walked over with two boxes, one from herself and the other from her husband, "Here you go Titan-chan. These are from your Tou-san and I," she said.

He smiled, "Thank you," then he proceeded to open them.

"What are they?" he asked as he looked at the box's contents with a puzzled look.

"They are for school. Tou-san and I registered you at Kai's school and after you take the entrance exam, you will take these with you and use them at school. They are notebooks, pencils, pens and a book bag. Tomorrow we will start to work with you and show you how to use them."

"Thank you Kaa-san," he said as he hugged his "mother."

Then it was Hikaru's turn, "Here you are Titan-kun."

Titan took the small box and opened it up while Houka put yet another bow on his head, "Thank you Hikaru-sensei. It looks nice, but what is it?"  
"You can call me Hikaru and it's a book about Magitopia's history," Hikaru smiled.

Titan looked at the book again and read the words out loud, but very slowly, "History of Magi…topia. Oh, okay, thank you," he smiled.

After that, Urara walked over, "This is from me. I hope you like it," she smiled.

He opened the box that was a little larger and thicker than the one her husband had gave him and opened it. "C-cooking from around the world. There are more places than here?" he asked looking up.

She smiled, "Yes and you can lean a little about each of those places while you learn to cook," she pointed out the small paragraph about Italy and he read it. "Oh, that's sounds interesting," he said as he looked at her.

After he sat them aside he was handed another gift, this time by Tsubasa.

"Hope you like," he said as he beat his sister to the punch, or so to speak, when he put the bow on Titan's head.

Titan opened the box, that wasn't wrapped and looked inside, "'All you need to know about boxing' DVD. What does DVD mean Tsu-nii?"

"It means Digital Video Disc. It's a movie about boxing. Maybe later we can watch it together later," Tsubasa smiled.

"Alright," Titan replied.

Then it was Kai's turn, "Here you go. The best for last," he smiled.

"Actually Kai-nii-chan, Houka-chan hasn't gone yet," Titan pointed out as he opened the large box.

It was filled with manga, anime and soccer training videos. "Thank you Kai-nii-chan."

"Welcome," Kai replied.

Finally Houka gave him her gift. He opened it and saw she gave him some video game magazines, romance movies, and fashion magazines.

"Um, Hou-nee, what are those?" Kai asked.

"Things I think he would enjoy," Houka smiled.

"Um, okay," Kai said, "Those are chick flicks though," he pointed out.

"And those fashion magazines are girly too," Tsubasa added.

"Well how else do you expect Titan-kun to learn how to interact with the girls in our world?" Houka replied.

"He could always ask us," Tsubasa said, gesturing to himself and his two brothers.

"Like I said…How else do you expect Titan-kun to learn how to interact with the girls in our world!?" Houka emphasized.

"She's got no faith in us," Kai said sadly and Yuka put a hand on his shoulder "Well since they're presents from Houka-chan, I like them no matter what," Titan said. Houka smiled and hugged him, then did her special victory pose at her brothers.

After they put Titan's gifts aside, Nai and Mare set up the new karaoke machine.

"Time to dance!" said the girls.

Everyone laughed, but decided it would be alright, "Okay, what shall we…" Miyuki started to say, but then a slow song started to play.

"Aw, alright," she smiled at Nai and Mare and took her husband to the middle of the make-shift dance floor.

Urara got the same idea and took her husband and started to dance with him, followed by Kai and Yuka.

Nai and Mare walked over to Tsubasa and Makito and asked, "Would you like to dance?"

"Yes dance," Mare smiled as she held out her hand towards Tsubasa.

He smiled and lea her to the floor, as did Makito as he lead Nai to the floor.

Houka smiled at Titan, "Think you would like to try?"

"Yes, very much so," he said as he led her to the floor.

Smokey then walked over to Sphinx and bowed, "May I have this dance dear lady," he said in an exaggerated gentlemanly tone.

"Sure, why not," Sphinx replied and took Smokey's offered arm…

"This is the first time in a long time we've danced, even if we don't count the 15 years you were missing," Miyuki said to Isamu as he held her close.

"I am sorry about that. I promise to make things up to you," Isamu replied.

"You can start tonight if you wish," Miyuki replied, kissing her husband softly with a hint of a promise of something more…

"This is the start of the rest of our lives," Hikaru said to Urara.

"It's going to be so wonderful. I love it already," Urara replied.

"I can't wait to see you in that gift from Houka by the way," Hikaru whispered at his wife, who punched him in the shoulder playfully and leaned in closer.

"Later…" she whispered into his ear… "For now let's just hold each other."

"Anything for you," Hikaru replied…

"Thank you for coming today, Yuka-chan," Kai smiled at his new girlfriend

"Well thank you for inviting me Kai-chan. I'm glad we can be together now," Yuka replied, then leaned in closer, "You're a dream come true, and not just because you're MagiRed either. Ozu Kai is very much a wonderful person who I like a lot."

"Yuka-chan…thank you," Kai replied…

"Are you enjoying yourself Makito?" Nai asked as she and the Magician of the Green danced.

"Yes I am, but I should tell you, I do have a girlfriend, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends," Makito replied.

"Oh…I think I can be okay with that," Nai replied, though it seemed she had a tone of disappointment…

"You're a good dancer Mare," Tsubasa commented.

"Thanks. So are you," Mare replied with a bright smile, "I'm very happy we're all friends now."

"So am I. I hope we can hang out more often," Tsubasa replied.

"I think I could like that," Mare replied and leaned in a little closer…

"We're witnessing history I think," Sphinx said to Smokey as they danced.

"What do you mean?" Smokey asked.

"Magitopia, the Surface World, and Infershia are all represented in this room, all getting along. It makes me glad to be here."

"Well don't just think of yourself as a spectator. Get into the spirit of things. Have some fun once in a while!"

"But I have responsibilities as Infershia's new leader."

"All the more reason to find time to relax," Smokey said, "You ever need help with that, give me a call.

"Maybe I'll take you up on that…" Sphinx replied.

"How do you like the party Titan-kun?" Houka asked, smiling at him.

"Everyone's been so nice, is this what it feels like to be part of a family? To have friends?"

"Yes it is. It's a great feeling isn't it?" Houka said cheerfully.

"Yes it is. And look at your parents, and Kai-chan and Yuka-chan, and Ura-nee and Hikaru. They look exceptionally happy."

"That's because they have each other," Houka explained, "They have a very special kind of relationship. We can explain more later."

"Do you have that kind of relationship?" Titan asked out of curiosity.

"Umm…" Houka blushed a light shade of pink, "Well I do have several boyfriends I date occasionally, but nothing serious," she said quickly.

"Do you think I could find someone special like they did?"

"Oh I'm sure of it Titan-kun!" Houka said hugging him, "You're so sweet and kind. I think you'll find someone great."

"I wonder if I already have," Titan whispered. Houka blushed even more and just held on to Titan closer.

After they danced to a few songs, everyone was getting tired, so they shut down the karaoke machine and stopped dancing.

Isamu looked at his youngest sons, "Alright you two. You get to clean up and without magic."

"WHAT?! Tou-san, I was hoping to walk Yuka-chan home!" Kai whined.

"You can and when you get back, help your brother clean."

"Alright…" he sighed as he took Yuka by the hand.

"It was a lovely party. Happy birthday Titan-kun! I look forward to being your classmate," Yuka said as they went out the door. Titan smiled and waved at her.

"Good night," Titan replied.

"Well, I'm off," said Makito said as he started for the door.

"Where too?" asked his father.

He smiled, "Late dinner with Erika-chan. Don't wait up," and then he left.

"Thank you for your hospitality. We should be getting back home now," Sphinx said bowing gracefully.

"It was a lot of fun," Nai said.

"We should do it again," Mare added.

"You're welcome to visit whenever you want," Miyuki smiled, "Have a good night."

After the guests were gone, Miyuki turned to her husband, "Want to go to bed?"

"Our room, yes. Bed, I think I maybe a while," he replied.

She smiled, "Would you like some tea and maybe we can talk about what's bothering you?"

He kissed her, "That would be nice." Then he led her to their kitchen and up to their room.

Houka helped Titan to his new room with his stuff and after he was settled she smiled and said, "Goodnight Titan-kun."

"Houka-chan, will Tou-san be alright?" he said as he got into bed.

"I am sure in time he will be," she said.

"Alright. Goodnight Houka-chan."

"Goodnight," she said as she slid the door shut, remembering what he said while they danced, and for the first time, began to question her dating-anyone-who-asks policy…

(A/N: Well we hope you enjoyed that. Reviews are always welcome. We have the next chapter already planned so the next update shouldn't take to long.)


	6. Chapter 6

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 6**

(A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this story. Our computer was out of commission for over a month. Now that it's back in action though, so are we! We promise to try to make up for lost time by updating as much as possible. With that, we hope this chapter is worth the wait.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters. We just love writing about them)

The weeks passed by like it was nothing, then it was finally the first day of the new semester and Titan's first day of school.

He woke up early that morning, not wanting to be late for his first day of school. He showered and dressed and then went down to meet with his "mother" and help her and "father" with breakfast.

"Good morning Titan-chan, do you sleep well?" Isamu asked his "son".

Titan smiled, "Yes, thank you. Would it be alright if I helped you and kaa-san with breakfast?"

He smiled, "That would be fine."

Miyuki smiled and took out some bacon, "Here, let me show you how to fry that," she said as she placed some pieces in a pan.

Soon the smell of breakfast filled the house, waking the rest of its residents.

Kai got out of his bed and ran down to the kitchen, "Aw, kaa-san, I missed the smell of your home cooking," he grinned when he saw his mother plate the food and his father pour the fresh juice into the glasses.

Miyuki smiled, "Your brother Titan helped some as well," she smiled.

"Really, cool," Kai replied then he noticed something was missing from around Titan's neck.

"Titan-niichan, where's your tie?"

At this Titan blushed, "I um…."

Miyuki looked at her youngest son, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" she asked in her kind voice.

He took it out of his pocket and handed it to her, "I don't know how to tie it."

She smiled, "It's alright, neither does your father. Here, let me show you," she said as she had him sit down at the table. She then tied it for him, while he watched and she then said, "Would you like to give it a try?"

He smiled, "Yes please."

She then untied it and gave him the tie. He then took it and started to tie it just like she showed him and smiled, he had gotten it right.

"Wow, you really are good," Kai said.

Then Isamu replied, "I can tie a tie, I just like it when you do it dear," he then bent down and gave her a kiss. Titan smiled, but Kai make noises implying he was getting grossed out.

Just then Tsubasa came down. "Tsu-nii, good morning," Titan said to his yellow brother.

"Mornin'," Tsubasa said as he placed his head on the table.

"What's wrong Tsubasa-chan?" asked Miyuki.

"I was having weird dreams last night and it kept waking me up," Tsubasa replied.

"Oh, what about?" his mother asked.

Tsubasa blushed, "I, um, don't remember," he lied.

His mother was about to say something, but was stopped by her husband. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Although Tsubasa didn't know it, Isamu knew. He had a dream about a girl and didn't want to talk about it, at least with his mother.

Next they was joined by the oldest two, "Aniki, Houka-chan! Good morning!" Titan smiled.

They smiled back and Houka gave everyone a hug, but Titan's also came with a small kiss on the top of his head.

"Good morning," she said as she took her seat beside of Titan.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" their father asked as they started to eat their breakfast.

"I was going to try and sell some of my veggies at the market today," Makito replied.

"And you?" Isamu asked his oldest daughter.

"I have a job today. I am going to be shooting a new sun block commercial," Houka smiled as she spread some jam on her toast.

"In the winter?" Isamu asked a bit confused.

"Don't look at me. I don't really care. As long as it's not dirty and I get paid, I am willing to do just about anything," she smiled after taking a bit of her food.

Just as they were cleaning up and getting their things ready for the day, Yuka-chan stopped by to pick up Kai and Titan.

"Good morning," she said as she opened the door just enough to peer in and say good morning.

Kai ran to the door, "Good morning," he said as he bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled, "Are you and Titan-kun ready?"

Titan was sitting on the stairs, tying his shoes and humming the song he was thought by Kaa-san on how to remember how to tie them.

"I think so. He started two days ago getting into a routine for the morning," Kai smiled.

"Well, that's something you need to do. Look at you, Your tie is messy, your hair still looks like it need to be brushed and I bet your books are just stuffed in there," Yuka sighed.

"Hey, as long as I have everything and my homework done, then there is nothing wrong," Kai smiled.

"Whatever. Well, we better go before we miss our bus. See you later Ozu-san!"

"Have a good day," Miyuki replied back.

**xXx**

After they arrived at school, Kai took Titan to the office to get his new schedule and find his homeroom. It turned out that they were in the same homeroom.

They then walked down to the class and Kai introduced Titan to the teacher and then the teacher introduced him to the class.

"Class we have a new student. His name is Ozu Yamato," the teacher started, not realizing that this name was an alias to go along with a believable profile, "but he goes by Titan, a nickname given to him by his family because of his height. Please do not make fun of him. He is a cousin to the Ozu family and is staying with the family due to his own family going away on a business trip out of the country and he did not want to go," the teacher said.

Titan bowed to the class and then took one of the open seats the teacher offered, it was near Kai and Yuka.

**xXx**

Titan's first class was class was not with Kai or Yuka and he felt every alone, but that didn't last long when a nice girl offered to sit with him and wanted to be his friend, she was the class vice-president and Yuka-chan's best friend..

"Hello, my name is Hoshi. You must me Titan, Ozu-san's cousin," she said as she held out her hand.

Titan smiled and took it, "Hello. I am Ozu Yamato, but you can call me Titan."

She smiled, "Hello Titan."

It seemed to be going well for him, until about half way though the class when a boy that was sitting behind him started calling him names and throwing spit wads at him.

"Guys, leave him alone. You heard sensei; he said not to pick on him. Why do you have to be mean every time we get a new student?" Hoshi asked.

"Because they are all freaks," replied one of the boys, "especially _him!_ He's got white hair and he's 6 feet tall!"

Titan didn't do or say anything; he just kept listening to the teacher and taking notes while the boys continued to snicker and whisper behind his back…

**xXx**

At lunch, Hoshi and Titan joined them, "Hey Titan-niichan, how were your classes?" Kai asked.

"Alright," Titan smiled as he started to eat his lunch. He had asked Hoshi not to say anything, but she said she couldn't lie to her friends.

"Everything is not alright Ozu-kun. Some of the other students picked on him and some even threw spit wads at him. He didn't do anything to deserve it. He didn't speak up either, he just went to the restroom and washed his hair out after class," Hoshi replied.

"Titan-kun, is that true?" Yuka asked.

"Yes, but it doesn't bother me. I mean what they said is true. I am tall and my hair isn't a normal color and if you think about how I…" but he was stopped by Kai, who placed a hand over his mouth. "Remember, only Yuka-chan knows about how you came to be," he whispered to him, "it's supposed to be a secret."

"Sorry," Titan said behind Kai's hand.

Kai removed his hand, "…And that I am not from around here," Titan finished.

"As true as it maybe Titan-kun, they still had no right to pick on you like that. It's not your fault that...your family left," Yuka replied, "and there's nothing wrong with being tall and have white hair."

"But it doesn't bother me," Titan tried to explain.

"Well it should, and as student president, I am going to do something about it!" Yuka replied.

Kai then turned to Titan, "You know what you need? You need to join a club or a team and then maybe you could show those bullies that you aren't any different from them after all."

"Well, what should I join?" Titan asked.

"Soccer or boxing. I don't know. We'll talk to Kaa-san and Tou-san when we get home," Kai smiled.

**xXx**

After Kai and Titan got home that day, Titan went up to his room and slammed the door shut without saying anything. Although he told his friends it didn't bother him about what the other kids said, inside, it really did.

Houka, Kai and the others sat at the dining room table while Kai, Yuka and Hoshi explained to them what happened to Titan at school. Afterwards, while the others talked about what sports or clubs would be good for Titan, Houka went up to his room.

She knocked on the door, "Titan-kun, it's Houka-chan, may I come in?"

When there was no answer, she noticed his door wasn't locked so she walked in.

He was standing by his window looking out into the garden, "Titan, are you alright?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"No. I found out today I don't like it when people make fun of me. It sort of reminds me of when I was an Infershian God. It was just like when Drake made fun of me. He called me weak, told me I was a disgrace to the Infershian Gods and to N. Ma-sama. I hated it then and I hate it even more now that I am human and have emotions!" he yelled. He then fell to his knees and started to cry.

Houka ran to him and wrapped her arms around him, "But you aren't a disgrace. You are a gift. We thought we lost you when N. Ma was born out of your body, but then you were reformed from the golden snow and with the help of Nai and Mare and Wingel and you became this really wonderful caring boy whom I for one really care about. Yes what those other boys said was mean, but that doesn't matter. You know in your heart you are good and you are caring and we know it too. And we like you for who you are. Especially me, I like you for who you are and maybe, no not maybe, definitely a little more than the others," then before she knew it, she gave him a small kiss on the lips, just as her mother and father walked in…

(A/N: Well how'd you like this chapter? We didn't get quite everything we wanted to in this one, but that means that next chapter definitely won't take as long as this one did to come out. Next chapter, the Ozu family reacts to Houka's PDA and also Titan may decide which extracurricular activity he'd be best suited at.)


	7. Chapter 7

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 7**

(A/N: Well we're back with another chapter. We're glad to be able to post more often like we originally wanted. Our goal is a chapter done every weekend. With that we hope you enjoy.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters. We just love writing about them. Hoshi is our minor OC though.)

Isamu and Miyuki just finished talking with Kai, Yuka, and Hoshi and left them in the dining room with some snacks. They all came up with some good ideas as to what sports would be good for Titan so he could earn the respect and friendship of his classmates.

"Do you think he'll agree?" Isamu asked.

"I think he will," Miyuki smiled, "But from what Kai-chan and his friends said, Titan-kun may be pretty upset but pretending otherwise. I did hear his door slam after he went upstairs after all. Let's be gentle yet firm in our suggestions."

"Okay then. I hope he's had enough time to cool off," Isamu replied as they approached the door to Titan's room, "No need to make him more upset." He opened the door and both parents saw something they didn't expect. Houka's lips were gently touching Titan's and she pulled away and smiled at him, her hands resting on his shoulders. Miyuki was surprised of course, but when she looked at her husband, he had a very disapproving look on his face and looked like he was trying to not get angry.

"Houka-chan. What is the meaning of this?" Isamu demanded sternly. In shock, Titan and Houka pulled away from each other.

"Tou-san…Kaa-san. You should've knocked!" Houka replied.

"Excuse me?" Isamu glared at her, "Are you saying that something _more_ would've happened if we hadn't come in here unannounced?"

Houka blushed heavily and Titan just looked confused, and a little frightened of Isamu's angry side, "It wasn't like that Tou-san," Houka said, "Titan-kun was pretty upset at what happened to him at school today and I came up here to cheer him up. Nothing more would've happened I promise."

"Really? Two young adults alone in a situation like this and nothing would happen? It's hard to believe."

"I'm not that kind of girl Tou-san!" now Houka was the one who was angry, "And Titan-kun's not that kind of boy. I don't think he even _knows_ about _that_ if that's what you're worried about. No one's told him. Though I think someone should."

"Really? Because I know about your dating habits. That you would go out with anyone who just asks you without consideration as to what kind of person they are. I've even heard from Kai that you go through several 'boyfriends' in a week. That's not the kind of daughter I raised!"

"You didn't raise me! You don't know anything about me!" Houka fumed, tears coming to her eyes, "I said I'm not that kind of girl! Yes I go out with anyone nice enough to ask me, but only because they are nice. And when I do go out, it's just usually just movies or meals or walks together and that's it! I thought you would've trusted Kaa-san to raise me better than to be someone who sleeps around!"

Isamu was about to reply but then he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, "Isamu!" Miyuki said firmly, then turned to her daughter, "Houka-chan. Both of you calm down before either of you say something you may regret later. Please we just got our family back together again. I don't want it torn apart. Let's just discuss this like calmly like adults." Though her tone was soft, it was very firm and suggested that she wouldn't tolerate any argument from anyone in the room.

"I'm sorry," Titan said softly looking down, who was now on the opposite side of the room from Houka after being scared by the shouting match, "I didn't know I was doing anything wrong. I didn't mean to cause this so please don't hate each other," he pleaded looking at both Houka and Isamu.

Isamu's face softened and he took a deep calming breath before turning to Titan, "It's okay. You don't have to be afraid of me. You can come closer. I want to teach you something very important. Something about family." When Titan was standing near the rest of them, Isamu continued, addressing both Titan and Houka, "Now listen and listen good. I love Houka-chan very much. She is my precious daughter and nothing she has ever done or ever will do can ever make me hate her. No matter what happens to her or what she does or says, she will always be precious to me. I feel the same way about all my children. And Miyuki is even more precious than that. You see, members of a family try to care for each other and help each other and most of the time they get along. However sometimes someone in the family does or says things that hurts another person in the family and they get angry at each other. But that doesn't mean they hate each other. As long as they remember they love each other, they can resolve their conflicts and go back to caring for each other."

"Does that include me?" Titan asked, still sounding slightly scared and worried.

"Yes. When we took you in, you became part of this family. Everything I just said applies to you as well. It's just that what we just saw between you and Houka-chan has me very…concerned," Isamu replied.

"Why's that?" Houka asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Isamu said, "When we adopted Titan-kun into this family, your Kaa-san and I did it feeling as if Titan would become like a son to us, which until now seemed to be working. Your other siblings have treated him like a brother and I thought you would've done the same, but obviously you have…different feelings towards him."

"Is that so wrong? It's not like he's a blood relative," Houka replied.

"Although that is the truth, remember that we can't tell the world about Titan's true origins. As far as the rest of the world outside this family knows, he is Ozu Yamato, our cousin that's living with us because of his parents leaving the country on a long term business trip. Don't you think it would be weird if someone saw you dating your cousin?" Isamu asked.

"Maybe, maybe not, if the cousin is only distantly related," Houka replied, "I've known one or two people who've done that without bad repercussions," she pointed out.

"And it's not just how this affects you that has me concerned. Have you considered Titan-kun's feelings?" Isamu asked, "As you pointed out earlier, Titan hasn't been made aware of the seriousness of romantic relationships."

"That's not entirely true," Titan spoke up, "I see how serious romantic relationships are when I look at you and Kaa-san, and when I saw Hikaru and Ura-nee before they moved out. I see the love you have for each other and I'll admit; it seemed like something I would want to experience for myself."

"Well I'm glad that we've shown how happy we are together, but being involved with someone as deeply as we are, requires a high level of commitment and sacrifice," Miyuki chimed in, "If you were wanting to pursue a relationship with Houka-chan…or anyone else for that matter, you should realize that to get to where your Tou-san and I are now, it would take a lot of time and effort to become mature enough, emotionally speaking, and you're still very young in that way. I'm afraid you're wanting too much too quickly. You should use most of your energy to focus on school and your friends. If you do want to date, then go and do some of the simpler things Houka-chan mentioned. Go to movies, take walks, eat meals together; stuff like that is okay. You can have fun and learn to care about someone without rushing into things you really aren't ready for."

"Miyuki…are you saying that if they do want to…become involved with each other, you'd approve?" Isamu asked.

"Well they were already becoming close friends before Titan's unfortunate death," Miyuki pointed out, "And ever since he came back, I've noticed them growing even closer. I thought that this would happen eventually, just not this soon."

"So you saw this coming? Why didn't you warn me?" Isamu asked not angry, but baffled.

"Because I thought there'd be more time to get you used to the idea. I know your temper, Isamu, I didn't want you to blow up at them like you did, but too late I guess."

Isamu sighed, "I'm sorry I got so angry," he said to everyone.

"And the records we made for Titan-kun…I made sure to have him listed as a _distant_ cousin for when this did happen, so they wouldn't have to worry about being publicly ostracized," Miyuki smiled, then she turned to Titan, "But you still haven't told us how _you_ feel about all of this. Your feelings are just as important in this matter as ours and Houka-chan's. How do you feel about her?"

Titan blushed slightly, "Well…" he began shyly, "Houka-chan was the one who opened my eyes as to the error of Infershia's ways...she saw the good in me and helped me to understand it. She became my first friend and taught me about the Surface World and how wonderful it is. That it should be protected instead of destroyed. She protected me from Wyvern and helped Aniki to be my next friend. She taught me the importance of protecting those you care about, even if you have to risk your life. Ever since I came back as a human, she is still my best friend. I'm grateful you took me in and I like everyone in my new family, but I like Houka-chan the best. When we had that party a few weeks ago, I felt something special when Houka-chan and I danced…like my bond with her became stronger. Houka-chan's so sweet and kind and I really care about her and I can't imagine trying to be in a romantic relationship with anyone else. I can learn a lot from her and I know I already care about her."

Miyuki smiled at Titan, "Okay then. Thank you for being honest with us. If you want to ask Houka-chan out, you have my blessing. You're a good boy and I know you'll treat her right. What do you think, Isamu-san?"

Isamu looked at Miyuki who was giving him her special smile, then at Houka who was also looking at him with hope, the combination completely disarmed him and the level of sincerity coming from Titan was enough to quell all arguments he could've come up with. He really was a good boy and would be perfect for his daughter. There still was one thing bothering him though, "Okay then, you've convinced me for the most part, but there's still one thing I'm honestly concerned about," he turned to Houka, "How will Titan know he's not just one of your other several boyfriends that you date casually? He seems to care about you more than they do and I think it will honestly hurt him if he's just another number in your cell phone. I don't want either of you to hurt the other and that's the truth."

Houka looked back at her father. He had brought up a good point. It was always her policy to go out with any guy who happened to ask her, no matter what. It was a policy that served her well in the past. The guys who asked her were always very kind to her and didn't try to take advantage of her. She genuinely enjoyed their company and was sure they enjoyed hers, but she never considered any of them seriously…well except for that time she almost got married, but that was more out of sympathy than love. No one had ever really captured her heart before, but she thought of how close she became with Titan in the short time they knew each other before his death, and how close they became after he was revived as a human. She recalled the dance that they shared a few weeks ago and how he asked if it was possible for him to find someone special, and how he thought that maybe he already had. Neither one of them brought up the subject since then, but she hoped it was her that he was referring to. He was so gentle and kind and sweet, and a fast learner, so he was definitely intelligent…and ever since he became human, attractive with his white spiky hair. If he was to date someone, he deserved someone who would give him some level of commitment and not someone who'd date him randomly along with some other guys, "Okay Tou-san…that's fair. Titan-kun, I promise to you, that if you do want me to be your girlfriend, I won't be dating anyone else but you."

"Are you sure?" Titan asked, "Won't the others be disappointed?"

"No because they know I'm not serious about any of them. I want you to know that I really care about you and I think you're very special. So I'll focus all of my 'dating energy' on you."

Titan smiled brightly and wrapped Houka in a tight hug, "Thank you Houka-chan…that means so much to me."

"You should ask her first Titan-kun," Isamu smiled.

"Okay…Houka-chan…I really really like you…will you be…my girlfriend?"

Houka laughed lightly and hugged Titan back, "Of course I will, Titan-kun…you're so wonderful you're definitely the one person I'll never turn down."

"I'm happy for you both," Miyuki said, earning a big hug from both Houka and Titan.

"It looks like you two are in for some real happiness," Isamu said to them.

Houka moved towards her father shyly, "Tou-san…thank you…what I said earlier…that you didn't raise me and don't know anything about me…that was really out of line…I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Isamu wrapped his arms around his daughter, "Yes Houka-chan, I already did. I love you."

"I love you too, Tou-san."

Miyuki looked at everyone in front of her and her eyes started to water, "I'm glad that's settled too…oh…I almost forgot why we came up here in the first place! Titan-kun, we talked with Kai-chan and his friends and agreed on a way to help you get along with your classmates…how would you like to join Kai-chan's soccer team?"

(A/N: Well we hoped you enjoyed this chapter. We know the romantic aspect of this story was something everyone anticipated, but we didn't want to rush it either. . So please tell us what you thought. Originally this chapter and the previous one were meant to be one chapter together, but when we expanded our ideas, we thought it would be better to split it into two. Next chapter we get Titan's reaction to Miyuki's offer and we see more of his school life, but now he has the support of a new girlfriend.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 8**

**We own nothing but our OC.**

A couple of days have passed and Titan was still trying to do well in school. Kai had suggested that he come and see a practice of his soccer (football) team and he agreed. So, on Friday of that week Titan went with his "big brother" and watched him practice for a while to get the idea as to what soccer was about. After about 15 minutes Kai waved to Titan, "Come on, let's meet some of the team," he told him, the taller kid running towards Kai and his friends.

"Hey guys, I would like you to meet my cousin, Titan. Titan, this is the team," he said as he made introductions.

"Wait a minute, he's that new kid everyone's talking about…" one of the players said.

"Well don't believe anything bad you hear about him. He really is a nice guy," Kai insisted, "He just looks slightly different from the rest of us."

"Well Kai…are you ready to practice some more?" another player asked, "I don't think we should have a problem letting Titan watch."

"Actually," Kai added, "I would like to give Titan a chance to try out for the team. I think he's got a lot of potential. Go ahead Titan. Let's show them what you've got." Titan looked at Kai who gave him an encouraging smile. Yuka was there also, as the team manager, who also nodded her encouragement.

"I don't know…our best player and our team manager are dating and now our best player's cousin is getting a tryout…"

"I don't expect any special treatment," Titan said, "I just want a fair and honest try out."

"One of our rules is that if there's a new student joining in the middle of the semester, he or she has the right to try out for team sports," Yuka added, "And he should be given the chance to prove himself instead of being treated like dirt for no reason."

"I guess Yamazaki-san has a point," another teammate said, "Okay Titan…show us what you can do."

**xXx**

Meanwhile, in town at the mall, Houka was visiting with her sister, Urara, who had just come down from Magitopia for some "sister time." Plus she had a secret she just _had _to tell someone and Houka was her best shot.

"Hou-nee, are you sure you will be able to keep it a secret for a while?" Urara asked her sister as they sat in the food court and ate their lunch.

"Of course I can. When it comes to you and the rest of the family, unless it's dangerous, I can keep secrets," Houka smiled, "but I still want to understand _why_ you want to keep this a secret. You're married and to a wonderful man who you love and loves you and your parents and siblings approve of. They'd be _thrilled_ to learn that you're pregnant."

"I want to tell Kaa-san and Tou-san, but I think I would like to wait a little while. I am so tiny, I don't want to say anything and then something bad happens and I lose the child….I don't want to give everyone's hopes up. I want to wait a little while," Urara said, looking at her food.

Houka put a hand on her little sister's shoulder, "Now don't start thinking bad things like that. You are The Magician of the Blue, you are half Heavenly Saint, who's pregnant _by_ a Heavenly Saint. Nothing will go wrong. Okay? And even if something bad was to happen, gods forbid it, I still think you should tell everyone so in that worst case scenario, we can all be there to support you."

"I…well…if nothing else…I think I want to keep it a surprise. I mean I'm not sure that Tou-san is used to me being married yet, I want him to be used to that idea before the idea of becoming a grandfather so soon after he's just come back," Urara laughed lightly and Houka smiled back at her, "So, Hou-nee…you said I wasn't the only one with big news. What's new with my big sister?"

Houka smiled, "Titan-kun and I are dating."

This caused Urara to spit out her drink, all over his sister's face, "Nani?!"

Houka looked annoyed at her while she cleaned herself off, "I really didn't want a soda shower Ura-nee. Yes, we are dating…well technically we haven't gone _out _on a date yet, we just decided we wanted to start dating a few days ago, but with school going on, he won't be able to take me out until the weekend…which should start tonight," Houka smiled in anticipation.

"Are you serious? I mean what do Kaa-san and Tou-san think?" Urara asked.

"At first Tou-san was very upset. He walked in on seeing me kiss him and actually thought that…that Titan and I were about to do…what you and Hikaru-sensei did not too long ago," Houka blushed.

Urara blushed too, "Would you have?"

Houka looked at her younger sister in shock, "Of course not! It was just an innocent kiss. Titan was very depressed after a bad day at school and I wanted to cheer him up. That's all."

"He's having trouble in school?" Urara said a little worried.

"He was being bullied for being as different as he is. Don't worry though, Kai-chan and Yuka-chan are helping him try out for the soccer team today. I'm sure he'll do well and then he'll win the respect and friendship of his classmates," Houka replied with a slight smile.

"I'm still missing something. When did you start to have feelings for Titan-kun? I mean…I'm not saying I disapprove, he's a good guy…it's just that it's a surprise to me. I mean did you just randomly decide to kiss him and declare yourselves a couple? Did he approach you and ask you out and you had to say yes like you do to every guy that asks you out?" Urara asked

"No…it's not like with the other guys where I just date them casually…I actually feel something _stronger _for Titan-kun…your big sister's giving up the random dating thing I think. I find myself wanting to just focus on one guy all of a sudden…_because_ he's Titan-kun and not just anyone else. I just want to date him and no one else. I've never felt like this before, but I think I like it," Houka replied.

"Wow Hou-nee…could it be that you're actually _in love?" _Urara grinned uncharacteristically at her sister.

"What?" Houka asked.

"Well you're the one that helped him become the great guy that he is and that's no exaggeration. You're definitely attached to him emotionally, I see it every time I see the two of you interact, and you just told me that your first instinct when he was feeling depressed was to _kiss _him," Urara replied.

"In love…I don't know…maybe…for something that serious I guess I'll have to wait and see…I'll ask him out tonight I think." Houka said.

"Alright then…So tell me what else happened between you and Tou-san. You didn't say how you got him and Kaa-san to approve," Urara reminded her.

"Well…We got pretty angry with each other. I even told Tou-san off."

Urara looked at her sister, eyes wide, "Wow, you actually stood up to Tou-san?"

Houka blushed, "I was angry and upset. You know what I am like when I am upset. I don't think things through. I am not proud about that, but it happened. I am just thankful he forgave me. I would hate it if he hated me…we both said things that were very hurtful…but Kaa-san made us calm down and then we discussed things rationally. And then…Titan-kun made this really passionate speech about how much I mean to him and I made my own speech as to what Titan-kun means to me. That's what made Tou-san realize what we mean to each other and that there's really no good reason why we _can't_ date. I mean we both know his cover story is that he's our distant cousin, but Kaa-san made it a point that she made sure he was distant enough where we can be dating without suffering from public ridicule…almost as if she saw what we wanted all along," she said the last part in wonder, "Though they did say that Titan-kun isn't ready for a relationship that gets _too_ serious," Houka said a little disappointed, "I guess it's for the best. After all we do want him to do well in school and all…So anyways we had to promise to take things slow and I had to promise to commit myself to him and give up my other boyfriends so I wouldn't hurt him by not taking him seriously."

"I can understand," Urara smiled at her sister. Just as she was about to get up and get them another drink, a group of boys and one girl came towards them. It was the soccer team from Kai's high school, "Houka-chan!" Titan said as he ran towards them.

"Wow," one of Kai's teammates said, "He knows a cutie like her? And she's an _older _woman!"

"She's his _girlfriend_," Kai smirked back at his teammate, amused at the slightly envious expressions of his friends. He didn't reveal that she was also Titan's "distant cousin" wanting to help him build up his reputation before dropping that little bombshell, despite his approval of the couple, "You guys go ahead and get yourselves something to eat. We're gonna say hi," Kai said heading for Urara and Houka's table and bringing Yuka with him.

Houka smiled and waved back, "Hi. I see you are doing better," she said as she stood up to hug Titan

He lifted her up in the hug, "I was allowed to try out for Kai's team and I made it!" he said holding her tight.

"That's good," she coughed from the hug being a little too tight.

He blushed and put her down, "Sorry."

She smiled, "It's alright. So, tell us what happened?"

He smiled back and they sat down, but not before he gave a smaller hug to Urara. Kai wrapped an arm around each of his sisters as greeting before taking his seat across from Yuka who smiled at the sisters.

"It was great," Titan started, "Kai introduced me to the team and they all looked at me and at first they were hesitant to give me a chance, but then Kai passed the ball to me and asked me to kick it to the goalkeeper. I did and he wasn't fast enough. I did that a few more times, each time making a goal, taking everyone by surprise. So then Yuka-chan told the team that they should have me join and I become the new full-back."

Houka smiled and patted his knee, "That's awesome Titian."

He smiled and blushed a little at the slight contact, "Thank you Houka," he replied as he bowed his head.

"You know what, we should celebrate. How would you like to go out with me tonight?" Houka asked.

Titan sighed, "I can't. I have homework, but we can go out tomorrow night. Is that alright?"

Houka smiled, "Of course it is."

"Thank you. Well, Kai and I are heading to the library with the rest of the team to do our homework as a group. We just wanted to stop by and tell you the good news," then he leaned over and gave Houka a small kiss on the cheek before leaving with Kai, Yuka, and the others to go to the library and start on his homework, "Tell Kaa-san we'll be late to dinner but not to worry. Oh and it's good to see you again Ura-nee," he called out.

Houka looked at her sister after they disappeared from sight, "I am so proud of him."

Urara smiled, "I can tell you are."

"By the way, I want to ask you one more thing. Does Hikaru-sensei know you're pregnant?"

Urara blushed, "What kind of wife do you think I am Ho-nee?! Of course he knows!"

Houka held up her hands, "Alright, alright, sorry."

Urara shook her head and got up and got herself a refill, "Just for that comment, you can get your own."

When she returned, Houka had a grin on her face, one of which Urara didn't like.

"What?" she asked, knowing she wasn't going to like it, but also knew if she didn't ask, she would be bothered.

Houka's smile, if possible, got bigger, "So what was it like making love to a Heavenly Saint?"

This time Urara chocked on her drink, "Na…nani?"

Houka repeated her question, "What was it like making love to a Heavenly Saint?"

"Houka?!" Urara gasped.

"Come on, I want to know. Sisters have no secrets," Houka teased.

Urara blushed, "It, it was everything I thought it would be, and so much more. It was very magical. And afterwards, even though I didn't take the test until a couple days ago, I just knew in my heart I was pregnant."

Houka smiled, "Sounds wonderful. So…did you wear my gift?"

Urara sighed, "Yes."

"And did he like it?"

"HOUKA!"

Houka smiled, "I was right."

**xXx**

Later that night over dinner, Miyuki was happy to see her children joining them at the table, Hikaru joined them as well, but both he and Urara had a silent agreement not to reveal her "condition" at this time.

"So, how was everyone's day?" she asked as she took a bit of the food she and Titan made.

"Mine was great Kaa-san. I made the soccer team today," Titan replied with a huge smile.

"That's great Titan. When's your first game?"

"Wednesday," he replied.

"That's really is great. We will all try and be there" Miyuki smiled.

"I can't be. Sorry," Tsubasa replied.

"Why's that?" Titan asked, a little disappointed.

"Because I will be at the warm-ups for the featherweight class," he simply started.

"Featherweight?" Titian asked.

"It means light weight. It's a boxing term. Because of my size I am in the lowest weight class in boxing," Tsubasa explained.

"Oh, alright," Titan replied.

"Urara and I can't make it either…I'm sorry Titan-kun. We already made plans for that day," Hikaru said.

"Oh that's okay. I hope you'll be able to make it to another one," Titan replied.

"It's a promise," the Heavenly Saint nodded.

"Well, the rest of us will still be at your game," Miyuki reassured him.

Titan smiled, "That would be fun."

**xXx**

When Wednesday came the whole family, minus Hikaru, Urara and Tsubasa, showed up to see Titan's first game. Isamu was wearing a long sleeve shirt with the team's logo on it and a pair of jeans and white tennis shoes. Miyuki was wearing a small tee shirt tucked into a long blue jean skirt and a pair of brown sandals. When they arrived at their son's game, Kai looked up and saw his parents, "Oh my heavenly saints!" he exclaimed.

Titan looked up, "What? It's just Kaa-san and Tou-san."

"It's not that Titian. It's what they are wearing," he replied.

Titan looked again, "They are wearing the team's shirt," he said confused at his big brother's reaction.

"Never mind," Kai replied. Then the whistle blew and the game began.

**xXx**

After about an hour of playing, the scores were tied and it looked like either side could win. There were only a few seconds left. The ball made its way to the newcomer

_"Okay,"_ Titan thought, "Time to put my new training to the test…"

"Oh my goodness folks! It seems young Ozu Yamato is really taking to the field like a pro," the announcer started, "He's got great ball-handling skills and is taking the other team by surprise, not to mention his own team. He moves left, now right, oh my, we are down to three seconds, he's not going to make it. Wait a moment….GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! LADIES AND GENLEMEN OZU YAMATO HAS JUST KICKED THE BALL TO THE GOAL FROM JUST OVER HALF WAY UP THE FIELD! IN ALL MY YEARS AS AN ANNOUNCER I HAVE EVEN SEEN SUCH A PLAYER. WAY TO GO YAMATO!" the announcer cheered.

Miyuki and Isamu were cheering the loudest for their sons, but mostly for Titan and how well he did on his first game. Although Kai made most of the other goals for the team, he didn't make the wining goal and he wasn't happy. All the attention was moving from him to Titan and it was showing.

Yuka walked over to her boyfriend, "Kai-kun, are you alright?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Kai stood up and threw his towel at her, "No I am not Yuka-chan!" and jogged away, Yuka looked on in shock and worry…

TBC…

Sorry this took long, but we've been a little busy. Anyways, better late than even later.


	9. Chapter 9

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 9**

(A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Every time we try to do this in a timely manner something bad happens. But no matter what we won't give up on writing. As a bonus this chapter is longer than most. We hope it was worth the wait)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters.)

Kai messed up, he knew it. He wanted to make it up to Yuka-chan before she could break up with him, "What to do?" he thought to himself as he paced his room. He then looked down on the desk at the tickets on top of it. "THAT'S IT!" he exclaimed as he quickly showered and dressed to go see her…hopefully before it was too late.

**xXx**

Titan was excited; he was as they say, on Cloud 9. He helped his high school win a game. He couldn't be happier. He wanted to do something special to celebrate and do it with his someone special, his girlfriend, Houka. He knew what he wanted to do too, so he walked out of his bedroom and knocked on her bedroom door.

"Houka-chan, may I come in?" he asked from the other side of the door.

She moved over to the door from his computer chair and answered it, "Hello Titan-kun, what can I do for you?" she asked.

He smiled and walked in, "When we came home, we had a small package from Nai and Mare. Kaa-san opened it and it was two tickets for everyone and a date and well, I was waiting to know if you would like to go with me on a date and we go see them in concert?"

Houka smiled and asked, "When's the concert?"

Titan looked down at the tickets, "Tonight, at 9."

She smiled again, "Give me about 30 minutes to get ready and I'll be right out."

He smiled and gave her a small kiss, "Thank you Houka-chan."

**xXx**

Meanwhile, Kai was standing outside of the Yamazaki residence looking up at the door that led into the home. He took a few breaths before calming himself and walked up to the door. He rang the door bell and waited. When it opened, there was Yuka, standing there crying.

"What do you want Kai-baka?!" she yelled at him.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him, even though she tried to pull away, "I came here to say I am sorry and want to know if you would go to a concert with me and dinner," he then stepped away and looked at her, but not moving his arms from her shoulders.

"What kind of concert?" she asked.

"Nai and Mare, my friends from the party," he said as he bit his lower lip.

She smiled, "I suppose so, but you better also take me to a nice place for dinner. No ramen huts or fast food. You aren't getting away with apologizing that easy."

He released the breath he was holding, "Deal. I am so sorry Yuka-chan, I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you," he replied.

She smiled and kissed his cheek, "I forgive you, but you really should apologize to Titan-kun. After all you got mad over him scoring the winning goal. Such a silly thing to get mad about, don't you think?"

Kai blushed and bowed his head, "I guess you are right."

"So, what time is the concert?" she asked.

"It has a whole list of times. They must be becoming popular. The latest one for today is 9 o'clock," Kai replied.

"Plenty of time to change and take me to a nice dinner," Yuka replied.

"Change?" Kai questioned.

"Yes, they are a Goth band Kai. You shouldn't wear your Magician of the Red shirt to that kind of concert. I guess I need to take you shopping then," she smiled as she ran back inside and grabbed her bag and they left for the mall.

**xXx**

Back at the Ozu family home, Houka had just come out of the bathroom and was looking herself over in the full length mirror in her room. She smiled at the outfit she just made for herself. It was a purple and black bodice that flowed from the back and bottom, small black mini skirt, fishnet stockings, black leather boots that had buckles to fasten them closed, black leather gauntlets that tied at the sides, a black leather spiked choker necklace, rose colored skull shaped earrings, and a rose colored skull and crossbones hair pin. She also had the design of her fairy symbol drawn on her cheek with pink glittery makeup.

She was about to leave her room, when Titan knocked on the door, "Come in," she said.

He opened the door and got a look at her, "Wow, you look pretty," he smiled and blushed a little. He never knew her to expose so much skin before but, he wasn't complaining; he liked it.

"Thank you. I see you are wearing some of the things Nai and Mare bought you," she replied, pointing to his outfit.

"I thought it would be alright. After all they did get it for me," he smiled.

He was wearing midnight-black pants, black leather boots similar to what Houka was wearing, and a necklace that matched hers. He was also wearing a long sleeved black shirt, black leather gauntlets that had metal spikes on them, and a black leather belt that had a silver skull and crossbones for the buckle, and his hair seemed extra spiky. He also had a purple star design below his left eye.

"Well you look lovely. Are you ready?" she asked, in the back of her mind she smiled. He was looking extremely hot, actually.

He nodded and she looked at him confused, "What's wrong?"

"How are we going to get there?"

She smiled, "Not a problem, Urara left her car down here for us to use when we needed an extra car or they need to get around when they are here."

He smiled, "Oh, okay."

As they went down the stairs, Isamu and Miyuki were waiting for the pair.

"Houka?" Isamu asked when he saw what his oldest daughter was wearing.

"Yes Tou-san?" she smiled.

"You're wearing that to the concert?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow.

She looked down and then back up, "Yeah, what's wrong with it? I'm covered," she replied confused.

"Barely. No daughter of mine if leaving the house looking like that."

"Tou-san, it's Nai and Mare's concert. They are a Goth band. Everyone will be wearing things like this. And we had this talk already. I am not a child anymore. I am old enough to wear what I want and not have my parents telling me what I can or can not wear," she said as she placed her hands on her hips and look him in the eye.

Miyuki put her hand on her husband's shoulders, "Sweetheart, she's right. Just let her go."

Isamu sighed, "Alright sweetheart," then he leaned down and kissed his daughter on the cheek, "Have a good time."

"Thank you Tou-san," Houka replied.

"By the way, where are you two going for dinner?" Miyuki asked.

Houka looked at Titan and he shrugged his shoulders. She then turned to her mother and asked, "Do you suggest anything?"

Miyuki smiled, "Yes, 'The Dinosaur'. It's a famous curry shop. It's really good." She then turned to her husband and said, "That reminds me, I need to take you there sometime. That's where I meet Doggie and Swan-san."

"Doggie and Swan-san?" he questioned, very confused.

She smiled, "I'll explain later," then she turned back to her daughter and their son and smiled, "Anyways, 'The Dinosaur' has really good curry."

Houka smiled and hugged her parents, "Thanks. We will be back kinda late."

"How late?" Isamu asked.

"Morning," Houka smiled.

"NANI?! I don't think so, it's a school night!" Isamu replied in a loud voice.

"Easy Tou-san, I was picking. Midnight at the latest," she smiled, then took Titan by the hand and they left.

**xXx**

When they got to the mall, Yuka took Kai to a shop that sold Goth, Punk and Anime clothing.

She took him to the men's section and started pulling out random items that she knew would look good on him and then pushed him in the dressing room about 10 minutes later.

When he came out he looked in the mirror and then at his girlfriend, "I look ridiculous!" He was wearing a black T-shirt with purple bat wings that was holding up the word "NightMare" with small fangs hanging from the "g" in "Night" and the "a" in Mare. He was also wearing baggy black jeans with many little chains all over them. On his wrists were black tennis wrist bands. One had a red Magi "M" while the other had the purple mini NightMare symbol on it. He was wearing black military boots. Also he had on a collar that had a small chain going from it.

Yuka smiled, "You look awesome. Nai-chan and Mare-chan are going to love it. I promise." She was wearing a purple dress that had a tight, strapless top on it that was tied in the middle. The skirt was short, very short. It flared into a spider web pattern and the whole thing was purple in color. She had black fishnet stockings that was fastened to her black underwear with little skull fasteners. She also had on long black leather boots that tied all the way up and had thin heels. On her arms she had gauntlets that matched her stockings. Her hair was pulled up with black chopsticks that had skulls at the to and she was wearing purple makeup.

"I look weird," Kai wined, "And what you're wearing is very out of character for you."

"Look, Kai-kun, it's not our normal style, but it's fine. Trust me, okay?" she smiled.

He sighed, "Alright Yuka-chan."

"Alright, take those off so we can pay for them then we will go and change before we go to dinner."

"Alright," he smiled and then kissed her cheek and then went back into the dressing room.

Yuka touched her cheek before going and changing back to her normal outfit and paying for the new one.

Once they were changed and everything was paid for, Kai took Yuka by the hand, "I want to say I am sorry the best way I know how. Would you like to go to dinner now?"

"Where at?" she smiled, while blushing a little at the touch.

"The steakhouse?" Kai questioned

She smiled, "Of course.'

When they got to the steakhouse and waited for their food, Kai took her small hand into his and looked into her eyes, "For the longest time I have had strong feelings for you and I want you to know that I am so sorry for hurting your feelings. It was incredibly wrong for me to do that. I shouldn't have been jealous of Titan and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I care about you a lot, no more than that. Yuka-chan, I love you and I don't want to ever hurt you again. I want to give you my high school class ring to let you know how much you mean to me. Yamazaki Yuka, will you take this ring as my promise to you that I will never hurt you again, that I love you with all my heart."

Tears were pouring down her cheek, "Yes, of course I will," then they leaned in for a kiss.

**xXx**

When Titan and Houka arrived at the curry shop they looked inside, "Wow, this place is huge!" said Titan.

"Yes it is. Kaa-san was right. This place is nice," Houka replied. Just then an elderly man walked up to them.

"Hello and welcome to The Dinosaur. I am Sugishita Ryuunosuke, owner of this curry shop."

Houka bowed a little and said, "I am Ozu Houka and this is Titan."

"Ozu? As in Ozu Miyuki-san's daughter?"

Houka smiled, "Yes, you know my mother?"

Ryuunosuke-san smiled, "I know a lot of the Rangers. They come here because we have the best curry in all of Japan. Some say it has the ability to heal. I don't know about that though," he smiled. Then he asked, "What can I do for the daughter of Miyuki-san?"

"This is out first official date and she said this place was the best around," Houka replied.

Ryuunosuke-san smiled, "Right this way. I know the prefect table for you."

He then took them to a table right under the chandelier, "This is the table your father brought your mother on their first date," he smiled as he handed them a menu. "Enjoy."

Houka looked confused, "Kaa-san said she needed to bring Tou-san here. Odd, well maybe he's forgotten."

Just then Titan smiled at Houka, "You look very nice Houka-chan."

Houka smiled, "Thank you, Titan-kun."

"I know it's not tradition to get you something every time we go out, but while you were dressing tonight, I talked to Kaa-san and got a few tips for tonight and she told me about gifts and when to give them and I, well, I made you something," he said as he reached into his pocket and handed her a hand made card.

Houka took the card and smiled. It was a chibi drawing of her and him holding hands with a little heart right above it.

"It's so cute Titan. You are very talented," she smiled.

"Thank you. My art teacher says I am really good. I've been working on something special for you," he smiled.

She opened the card up and there was a picture inside, "The picture?"

He smiled, "I am not done, but I wanted to show you what I've been doing all week, so I took a picture of my work."

She looked at the picture and smiled, it was a picture of a painting of her.

"Oh, Titan-kun, it's very lovely."

"Thanks. I hope to have it done for your birthday. I want it to be prefect," then he got the nerve and took her hand.

She smiled, "Thanks you. I really love it."

"You're welcome," he said.

After they ate dinner, they went to the concert. They had backstage passes and went to see Nai and Mare and were surprised to see Sphinx as well.

"Houka-chan, Titan-kun," said Nai and Mare as they ran to the couple and hugged them.

"Hey guys, how are you?" Houka asked once they broke apart.

"We're doing well," said Nai.

"Yes well," mimicked Mare, "So you and our Titan-kun are dating huh?"

Titan and Houka blushed a little, "Yes we decided we really liked each other a few days ago and this would be our first official date," Titan said.

"Aww how cute," Mare replied.

"We're happy for you," Nai added.

"Very happy," Mare echoed. Houka and Titan smiled then they noticed something new about Sphinx. She was standing in the corner with sunglasses, a Bluetooth headset in her ear and a PDA in her hand. She looked like she was talking to herself. After a moment she looked at Titan and Houka and smiled, "It good to see you two. You look happy together," she smiled as she hugged the couple.

"Thank you," Houka smiled, looking at Sphinx's outfit, "It looks like we're not the only ones with new looks tonight," she commented.

"I am Nai and Mare's manager. Apparently sunglasses are a prerequisite for the position in addition to the headset and PDA," Sphinx replied.

"Well you look nice," Houka said.

"Yes, nice," mimicked both Nai and Mare. Then Nai asked, "Did the others come?"

"We're not sure. I know Tsubasa can't make it, he's got boxing practice," Houka replied.

Mare looked dissipated, "Oh well, I hope Yellow-chan can make it next time."

Just then there was a knock at the door and Mare smiled, as one of the reformed Zobil guards opened it.

"Hou-nee? Titan? What are you doing here?" Kai asked, dressed in his new outfit, holding Yuka's hand.

Mare looked a little sad, but it went un-noticed by most except for her sister, Nai.

"We are on a date," Titan smiled, putting an arm around Houka, who leaned in and laid her head on his chest.

Yuka smiled and squeezed Kai's hand and Kai blushed, "We are too," he said.

Yuka looked at her boyfriend and cleared her throat, "Oh yeah, Titan-kun, I want to say I am sorry," he said looking at his "brother" and blushing.

Titan replied, "For what?"

"Being jealous of you getting the winning goal."

"Oh, I didn't know you were," replied Titan.

"Well I was and I want to say I am sorry," Kai smiled.

"Not a problem," Titan smiled.

"I didn't realize the time," Sphinx interrupted, "Nai. Mare. It's show time," then she turned to their visitors, "You four had best find your seats. They're in the front row."

"Alright. Thanks Sphinx," Houka said and she led Titan out while Kai led Yuka behind them and went to their seats to prepare for the premiere concert of their friends.

(A/N: Well we hope you enjoyed the first part of this double date. Next chapter Nai and Mare perform their concert and the couples will get to have some fun. However something else will occur that will change one of the Magiranger's love life.)


	10. Chapter 10

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 10**

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while, but with birthdays, job interviews and deaths, we've been busy. Hope this chapter was worth the wait.**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters**

As the concert was going on, the two couples were enjoying themselves. Nai and Mare were sounding like angels, even though it was a goth-band. They were even singing some songs that the Dekarangers knew.

"Our next song goes to Pink and Yellow Deka Ranger! Thank you for being our friends and letting us sing your song!" said Nai into the microphone.

Mare then announced the song, "Ladies and boy peoples! 'Girls in Trouble, Dekaranger!'"and the crowd clapped as they song started.

As the song played, Houka noticed that Titan was a little shy. "There's no need to be shy Titan. You know Nai and Mare like you."

"I know that, but I…well I don't know this song. It's not on their CD," he replied.

Houka stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, "That's because it belongs to someone else, they just asked to use the song for their concert. It's okay, DekaPink and DekaYellow are now friends with Nai and Mare, just like we are."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I do like the song it is catchy," and just as the girls sang, _chu chu chu_, he kissed her. Then he decided to do something special and picked her up and put her on his shoulders. Houka really enjoyed it there. "WOO HOO!" she said as Nai and Mare changed the song to one her family knew by heart, "Mahou Sentai Magiranger."

Meanwhile on the other end of the front row, Kai was trying to get into the music, but was finding it hard too.

"Kai-kun, what's the matter?" Yuka asked in his ear.

"It's not really my kind of music. Yes, I do like the song they just did, but the rest," however he wasn't allowed to finished, he got punched in the arm by his girlfriend,

"Just enjoy it baka!"

Kai smiled and kissed her, "Yes dear," he then took a hold of her hand and held it up while they cheered.

When the song finished, Houka looked down at her boyfriend, "Alright, this is fun, but you should put me down. Let the other people see."

Titan smiled and helped her to the ground, however when her feet touch, he placed her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her head, "Are you enjoying?"

"Yes, are you?" she smiled.

"Now I am. Finally something I know," he smiled and kissed her.

"That's good," she said once they pulled apart.

**xXx**

"And finally our last song of the night," Nai said.

"BLOODY FRIDAY NIGHTMARE!" Mare yelled and the whole crowed cheered even louder than before.

Once their song was finished, plus two extra rounds, the girls disappeared behind the curtain and so did Titan, Houka, Yuka and Kai, not knowing that the oldest, Makito was still there, standing alone and looking depressed.

"That was awesome!" said Houka, once they were in the girl's dressing room.

"Yes it was," Nai said as she sat on the couch with a bottle of water.

Mare, however was looking depressed.

"Mare-nee-chan, are you alright?" asked Nai as she stood up and looked at her sister, who was looking at her boots.

"NO!" she yelled, looking up. Tears ran down her face and her make-up was running.

Nai tried to hug her, but she pulled away, "Stop babying me Nai!"

"Mare-nee-chan, please tell me what is wrong?" Nai begged.

"I wanted Tsubasa-kun to come and he didn't. I even put in a special invite into the package just for him and he didn't show up!" Mare cried.

Houka also tried to hug the young vampire, but she moved away. "Mare-chan, he's training. I am sure if he could have been here he would have been. Don't be upset. I am sure he wanted to be here."

Just as Mare was about to say something, there was a knock at the door and Nai opened it. It was one of the reformed Zobil with a vase of yellow roses.

Nai thank it and looked at the card. "To Mare."

Mare looked at the roses, "From whom?"

"It reads: _'To Mare-chan, sorry I couldn't be there. I am busy, but I promise to make it up to you next time. Hope you had a good concert,'_ then there's a little heart and signed…I can't read the kanji. Man it's bad," said Nai as she read it, but failed.

Houka looked at the card and smiled, "Don't worry I know that kanji and bad writing anywhere, it's from Tsubasa."

Mare looked at the flowers and the card, "He…cares?"

Houka smiled, "Looks like it."

Mare then took the flowers from her sister and sat them on the desk and fluffed them up a bit before smelling them. "Yay!" she said as she turned to the others. "Excuse me. I need to use the restroom," then she left.

"Well, I had no idea Chii-nii felt that way about Mare," said Kai.

Houka smiled, "I knew it. I saw it at the party. He wants to move on pass Rei to someone whom he can love and will love him back, not someone who is dead and can't come back. With Mare, she will always be there for him and beyond."

"I guess, I never thought of that though. Well, he's got my support," Kai replied.

"Mine too," Titan said.

"Well, then I guess that's three of us," Houka smiled.

"Well, I hate to break this up," Sphinx started to say, "But I've got to get the girls packed up and on the bus."

Mare came out of the restroom, "I hate paper towels. You try to get one and you get three." She then wiped her hands on Kai's back.

"Thanks, I really wanted that," Kai joked.

"Now you can sell it on eBay for a lot of money," Mare joked.

"How'd you know about that?" Yuka asked.

"We've been exploring," Nai explained.

"Alright," Yuka smiled.

"We, we need to go. They have to get going and we have to get home. I promised Tou-san that we wouldn't be out to late. After all, three of you have school tomorrow and I have a modeling gig to do tomorrow as well."

"Alright," replied the teenagers. After they left Nai and a happier Mare, they walked back out where they saw Makito standing there, looking at nothing.

"Aniki, are you alright?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, I am fine. Waiting for you guys," he smiled, but everyone knew it was false.

"Waiting for us? We didn't even know you were here," said Kai.

"I saw you guys and thought I would wait," Makito replied.

"Why didn't you come backstage? Nai and Mare would have loved to see you," Houka smiled at her brother.

"Because I didn't feel like it. Look, I'll meet you three at the house," then he left.

"I wonder what that is all about." Kai asked his sister.

"My guess, he brought a date and she left," Houka replied.

"How do you figure?" Kai asked as they started to leave.

"Because only an idiot would come to a concert alone," Houka pointed out.

**xXx**

Kai and Yuka were now at her home and they were standing outside the front door, "I really had a fun time," Kai smiled at his girlfriend.

"Me too. Thank you so much for a wonderful time," Yuka replied.

"Yeah, thank you for well everything, including the clothes," Kai replied.

"Not a problem," she smiled, leaning in.

Kai blushed, he knew she wanted a _big _kiss, it was just he never really kissed her like that. He wanted to and after the night they had, it would be the prefect end to a more or less perfect date. He took a deep breath before leaning in himself. His lips pressed against hers. They were soft and tasted like strawberries, _"Must be the lip gloss,"_ he noted to himself. He then got a little more bold and licked her lips. She parted them and let him enter. She noted that his lips where like cherry soda and the inside of his mouth were like grape soda. A weird, but likeable taste.

When they pulled part, Kai was as red as his normal uniform, "Wow," he smiled.

"Wow, doesn't begin to describe how I feel. That was amazing," Yuka smiled.

"Yeah, maybe we should invent a new word," Kai said as he moved in.

"Maybe we should," Yuka replied as she moved in as well.

**xXx**

After they got back home, no one was waiting for them downstairs, so they proceeded to go up to their rooms. Once they were in front of Houka's room, they stopped.

"I know I can't technally take you home and kiss you goodnight, but I would like to kiss you goodnight in front of your bedroom door, if that's alright?" said Titan.

Houka smiled, "That would be fine."

Titan took a deep breath, leaned in a kissed her on the lips. He knew it was silly to be nervous, but since this was the end of their first _actual_ date, he wanted it to end well.

After a moment, Houka licked his lips and he knew what that meant. After all Tsubasa's notes that he gave him before the date came in handy so far.

He then opened up and allowed her to kiss him with such passion.

Houka smiled as Titan tasted like mint and hot coco, for some reason.

Titan smiled, she tasted like cherries and oranges. He didn't know why, but she did.

When they finally pulled away, they looked at each other and smiled, "That was nice Houka-chan."

"Yes, very nice," Houka smiled.

"I wouldn't mind if we did that again," he smiled.

**xXx**

After Titan left Houka at her room he went to his and closed the door. He walked over to his desk and turned on his lamp. He looked at his journal that he stated keeping after he started school and started to try to think of something to write. The only thing that he thought of was love and Houka. So, he wrote a large kanji for love and then beside of it in the lower left conor he wrote Houka, in English lettering. He then turned off the lamp, fixed his alarm and went to bed.

**xXx**

Houka however was unable to sleep. She was so excited she had to call and tell someone. She grabbed her MagiPhone and sat on her bed, cross legged and called her little sister.

Urara moaned as he phone went off. She rolled over and looked at the caller ID, "Hou-nee?"

"I just had the best night of my life," she squealed.

Urara got up and went to the living room as to not wake her husband, "Alright, start talking."

**xXx**

Makito looked out the window in the direction of his now ex-girlfriend's home.

"Erika-chan, how could you?" he sighed as he laid down in his bed and tried to sleep.

TBC…

**Next chapter: What will happen with Makito and his girlfriend? Will all be lost between them? Titan and Houka get closer, but they still have a lot to over come and announcements? Maybe, not even we know. **

**We hope to get back into our weekend routine again. If we fail...well, let's just hope we don't fail.**

**Thanks for reading, please review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 11**

(A/N: We are sorry this took SO LONG. A lot has happened and we are trying to get back into our stories.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters)

The next morning, the Ozu family gathered at the breakfast table for their family breakfast, minus of course Urara and her husband.

They took notice of their mother and father's usual peppiness however they decided not to say anything.

After the table was set, Miyuki looked at her children, "So, how was your date?"

Kai, Houka and Titan all smiled, "It was fun!" they said in unison.

However, her oldest and second-oldest sons didn't look so happy. "Tsubasa-chan, Makito-chan, what seems to be wrong?"

Tsubasa looked at his mother, "I am alright. Just wish I could have gone. Practice last night was hard. I had to practice against this rich kid named Hiroto. He's good, but he's a bit of an ass, pardon me, however his sister Miu is cute, just not as cute as my Mare-chan."

"Your Mare-chan?" questioned the family.

Tsubasa blushed, "Yeah, I um really like Mare and I am trying really hard to date her, it's just with her going on tour and me getting back into boxing, it's hard."

Miyuki smiled, "Well I am glad you found someone."

Kai then spoke up, "Oh yeah. We were then when your flowers came," however he no sooner said that than Tsubasa hit him on the head.

"Boys!" their father warned them.

"Sorry Tou-san," said Tsubasa and Kai as they lowered their heads and started to eat their breakfast.

"So, Makito, what about you? Didn't you go to the concert with a date?"

He looked up from his meal, "Yes, but she left me halfway though."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that," Miyuki said as she covered her mouth.

"Yeah me too. May I be excused?" he asked.

She nodded and he got up and went to his room. Everyone knew when he got there, because the door slammed and the chandelier above the table shook.

"Wow, he's taking it hard," said Kai.

"I wonder if it was the horrible woman he dealt with when he was selling his plants?" Houka asked.

"Maybe, who knows," Kai said.

**xXx**

Houka decided to be nice and take Titan to school. When they got there, she smiled at him and brushed some hair out of his face and went to hand him his bento box. "I hope you have a good day at school today."

He smiled, "I think I will. I know when I am not busy I will think of you," he then leaned in and kissed her on the lips, "I love you Houka-chan."

She smiled and blushed as well, "I love you too Titian-kun. Have a good day at school."

He got out of the car and noticed a group of four girls giggling, "Ohayo! Titan-kun!" they called to him as he walked passed them.

He smiled and waved, "Ohaya! Minna!" and went to his homeroom.

**xXx**

Throughout the day, not only did he think of Houka and write her a cute little love letter, but his thoughts went to his oldest brother, Makito.

"I know he is depressed and I think I know what do to help him and who would be the perfect person for him, but I am going to need your help," he said into his cell at lunch.

Houka replied on the other end while sitting in her room practicing for a role in a new show she just got as a one-time appearance playing more or less herself, but as MagiPink, "Oh, what's that?"

"I think Nai maybe a little depressed because of her sister having a boyfriend and since she is so nice and Aniki is so nice too, I thought that it would be nice to try and hook them up, but I am not sure how to go about something like that."

"I think I know what you mean. I can see what I can do to help you. A depressed Aniki isn't a happy one. That and if he slams his door one more time Tou-san is going to blow his top?"

"What do you mean _'blow his top'_?" Titan asked confused.

"It's an expression. It means to get very angry," Houka explained.

"Oh, alright. Well, I have to go. I love you," he smiled.

She smiled, "I love you too," and hung up.

**xXx**

Later after school both Titan and Kai had soccer practice.

Kai was standing under the bleachers with his girlfriend Yuka, "Now, don't get all jealous out there if Titan does better than you today." Yuka scolded.

Kai looked down at the ground, "I promise, I won't."

"Alright," Yuka replied. She then leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.

Titan was sent by the team to look for his "cousin" and he found him, right when he and Yuka were kissing. He tapped him on the shoulder and smiled when he turned around, "What'cha doin'?" he said in a big-kid manner.

Kai blushed, "I was kissing my girlfriend until my cousin came over."

"I know, however the coach and the team are waiting for you. They are ready to announce the team captain."

"I know," Kai said as he gave Yuka a quick kiss on the cheek and joined Titan and the others.

**xXx**

After practice, Titan and Kai got a ride home from Houka, "I am starved and I need a shower," Kai said as he climbed into the backseat of the pink VW Bug.

Houka smiled, "Kaa-san and Tou-san are making dinner and…well…Aniki is still brooding over his ex-girlfriend. He's been in the living room all day watching TV or playing on his laptop.

Kai moaned, "Great, not what I wanted after a hard day of practice and school."

"Sorry, but Titan and I have a plan to get him out of his funk," Houka smiled as she looked at her little brother though the rear view mirror.

"Oh, what's that?" Kai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Titan came up with the plan, I am just helping him with it. He thinks that Nai would be good for him and I tend to agree, however he doesn't want to use his broom or drive 100 miles away to see some girl in a town far away. So, I thought after dinner, I would change into MagiPink and go to where Nai and Mare are and use my broom to bring her back and hopefully things will work out."

"But we aren't supposed to use our powers for personal gain," Kai pointed out.

"I am not using them for personal gain, I am using them to help my brother. After all we are suppose to help people with our powers," Houka also pointed out.

Kai thought about it and it made sense. She would be using it to help someone to not be depressed.

"But wait, what about that gig you have as MagiPink?" he asked.

"That's just a little something to help kids to not drink or do drugs and stay in school. Nothing more. And besides, I am not the only Sentai ranger doing it. DekaRed and DekaBlue are going to be there as well as a few others."

"I guess you are right," Kai said.

**xXx**

After dinner, while Kai and Titan were up in their rooms doing their homework, Miyuki was in the living room sewing on Kai's new soccer captain's patch on his jacket while Isamu was watching the news. Tsubasa and Makito were outside and Makito was helping his brother practice for his first match on Sunday. Then they saw a pink light and stopped what they were doing. It was Houka a.k.a MagiPink on her Sky Hoki.

"Where are you going?" Makito asked.

"Out," she smiled from behind her helmet and then took off.

"Doesn't she know you aren't supposed to use the power for person gain?" he asked Tsubasa.

Tsubasa simply shrugged and went back into the house.

**xXx**

An hour later there was a knock at the door. Miyuki got up and answered it, "Houka-chan?"

"Sorry Kaa-san, I forgot my key. May we come in?" Houka said as she stepped aside so her mother could see her guest.

Miyuki smiled and let the girls in, "So, is this part of the plan you were telling me about?"

"Yep," Houka smiled and threw up the victory sign.

Nai bowed, "It's good to see you Ozu-san."

Miyuki bowed in return and smiled, "And you as well."

"Houka-chan said Makito-san was very depressed. Said something about his girlfriend breaking up with him?" she asked a little confused.

"Yes. She did it last night at your concert I am afraid," Miyuki told the young vampire as they went into the kitchen for some hot tea.

"I am sorry to hear that. What can I do to help?" Nai asked.

"Well," Houka started to say, "Titian-kun and I thought that you two would be prefect for each other," she smiled.

Nai blushed and looked into her tea, "Leave it to him," she smiled.

"He's a pretty good judge of character," Houka smiled.

"Where's Makito-san now?" Nai asked.

"In his room," Miyuki said.

"Would it be alright if I take some tea to him?" Nai asked.

"Yes that would be good," Miyuki smiled as she prepared some tea in a small pot and a tray.

Once it was ready, Houka showed Nai to her older brother's room and left.

Nai took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Makito looked up at the door from his bed, "Please Kaa-san, leave me alone."

"It's not your mother. It's Nai," Nai said from the other side of the door.

Makito got up and slip the door open and smiled, _'So, this is what she was up to,'_ he thought to himself.

"Please, come in," he gestured to her.

Nai bowed and walked in and sat the tea tray on the desk, "Your sister told me what happened. I am so sorry."

He bowed his head and looked at the floor, "Me too. I really cared about her and then she goes off with someone else in the middle of the date. That was very low, even for Erika-chan."

Nai couldn't help herself, she had to hug him and soon Makito found himself leaning against a girl dressed in a leather jacket, small black tank top and black leather pants. It took him a moment, but he hugged her back.

After a few moments they pulled apart, "Thanks Nai, I really needed that."

She smiled, "I am glad. Hey, would you like it if I took you back and let you come to tonight's concert?"

Makito smiled, "That would be nice," he then quickly henshined and they went to the magic room and he grabbed his Sky Hoki, helped Nai on the back of it, and took off though the door that Titan held open.

Houka walked over to her boyfriend and kissed him, "You did well Titan-kun."

He smiled, "Thanks for helping," then he leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

(A/N: So sorry this took so long once again. Things have been hectic with us, but we will always try our best to keep up with our stories. Reviews are always welcome!)

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	12. Chapter 12

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: We are sorry that we didn't get to this until now, but A LOT has happened to us and we had to put this off, but we are back and hope you will keep reading and we will try to get back on schedule for updates.**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Magiranger or its characters**

The next morning, the Ozu family was gathered around the table for breakfast, like they always were, except this time Makito wasn't with them.

Just as they were all about to eat, they heard something near the front door, a key entering the keyhole and the door opening and a very late Makito walking into the dining room where his family was.

"Morning minna," he said as he took his seat.

His father looked up from the newspaper and looked at his oldest son, "So, did my oldest get lucky last night?"

Everyone in the room yelled, "TOU-SAN!"

Isamu laughed, "Well?"

Miyuki looked at her husband, "Isamu-san, be good."

Makito, who was now four different shades of red, looked at his father, "If you must know, no. I was a perfect gentleman. Have faith in your children Tou-san. We aren't the children you left behind. We are adults now."

Isamu smiled, "I know that and I do have faith in you. I was just picking on you. But I am curious to know how your date with Nai-chan went."

Makito smiled, "It went well. After the concert we went to an all-night café and had some coffee and sweets and talked and I just dropped her off at home and came back."

Just then Tsubasa's MagiPhone went off. He pulled it out of his jean packet and looked at the caller ID, "Mare-chan?"

"I CAN'T FIND NAI ANYWHERE! I AM USED TO HER BEING RIGHT HERE BESIDE OF ME AND SHE'S NOT HERE TSUBASA! HELP ME FIND HER!" she yelled into the phone.

"Mare-chan, calm down, where did you look last for her?" he asked as he held the phone out from his ear.

"Our room and the bathroom, but she's not there," Mare replied a little more quiet than before.

"Did you bother to look in the rest of the house? Makito-nii-san said he just left her there at your home," Tsubasa replied, trying to hold back the laughter.

Mare got off her bed and went to look for Nai and found her asleep on their living room couch, "Oh, she's in the living room on the couch, sleeping."

Tsubasa smiled, "See, I knew she wasn't too far."

Mare sighed, "Gomen nasai Tsubasa-san."

He smiled, "It's alright. Are you alright now?"

She sighed again, "Hai Hai. Daisuki."

At that, Tsubasa blushed, "Um?"

Mare looked upset and although Tsubasa couldn't see it, he could feel it and he could feel his whole body blushing as he was being stared at by his family, "Aren't you going to say it back?"

"Um?"

"Tsubasa, don't you care for me anymore?" she cried.

He whispered in a very low tone, "Daisuki mo."

She replied, "What? I didn't hear you."

He then got up from the table, facing away from his family, "Daisuki mo Mare-chan."

She smiled, "That's better. See you later," she then hung up.

He sat back down and had the whole family looking at him, "What?" he nearly yelled, blushing.

Houka smiled, "It's so cute!"

Tsubasa looked annoyed, "NEE-SAN!"

Miyuki looked at her children, "Enough picking on your brothers now, everyone eat. Some of you have to go to school today."

Her children replied, "Hai Kaa-san," and ate in silence.

**xXx**

At the end of the school day, things seemed to go well for both Kai and Titan.

Kai went to walk Yuka home and they were going to work on her homework together while Houka picked up Titan.

"I hope you don't have a lot of homework to do today," she said as they drove towards the city.

"No, actually, I don't have any homework. Why?" he smiled at her.

"Because I wanted to take you out today, if that's alright," she smiled as she continued to drive.

He smiled and reached over and took her hand, "That's fine."

When they got into the city, she parked the car near the fair, and got out.

"What's this?" he asked as he got out of the car and walked over to her.

"This is the fair. A lot of couples come here when they want to have a fun date and I thought since it was a nice day, I would bring you here," she smiled as she led him inside.

He smiled, "There's a lot here, I don't know if we will have enough time to do it all."

"That's the beauty of it, even if we don't have enough time to do it all today, we can always come back another day and do something," she smiled as she took him to a food vender and got them two orders of dango.

Titan took the dango and tried it, "Wow, I really like this," he smiled.

"Me too. It's my favorite treat when I came to the fair," she replied as she took a bite.

After they ate their dango, they stood in line for the Ferris wheel, "I hope heights don't bother you."

He shook his head, "I don't think so."

She smiled, leaned up and kissed him, "That's good. I have always wanted to come here and do this with someone I really love."

He smiled and returned the kiss, "I'm glad."

**xXx**

While they went around, Houka asked Titan, "How is school going for you? Are you still having trouble with bullies?"

"Not really. They don't bother me like they did before. I have a lot of new friends from the soccer team and a lot of the girls at the school like hanging out with me and Kai, although Yuka-san and Hoshi-san don't seem to like it much. I don't see the problem though and I don't think Kai minds."

Houka smiled, "It's because they are what you would call 'fangirls.' Since you and Kai are the stars of the team, they seem to want to be around you both and Yuka-chan is just a little jealous, but I am sure if she would just talk to Kai and tell him how she feels, he would understand a little more."

"Are-are you jealous Houka-chan?" he asked, a little nervous.

She shook her head, "No, I think it's cute. If I was in school with you, maybe, but since I am not, it doesn't really bother me."

He smiled and was blushing a little, "That's good to know."

**xXx**

After they got off the ride, Titan saw the carnival games and took Houka over to one of them. After his third try, he won her a stuffed teddy bear.

"Aw, that you!" she smiled at him as she hugged the pink bear.

He grinned and kissed her, "Anything for you."

"Why don't we try and win you something?" she smiled as she took his hand.

He looked around until he found a game he wanted to try, especially after he saw what the prize was, a goldfish.

She walked over and paid for the game, "Let me try and win one for you."

He nodded, "Alright," and on her first try she got him one.

**xXx**

As they drove home, Titan kept looking into the bowl, "I am trying to think of a name for it."

"Hmm," Houka began, "How about Ponyo?"

Titan smile grew, "Just like the fish from the movie we went and saw the other day?"

"Hai, I knew how much you liked that movie. That's why I suggested it," she smiled.

"Cool! Thank you Houka-chan," he replied as he leaned over and kissed her.

"You are welcome," she smiled.

After they got home, they went to the kitchen to see Miyuki making dinner.

"Did you two have fun?" she smiled as she chopped the veggies for the stew.

"Hai. We went to the fair and Titian-kun won me this teddy bear and I won him a goldfish and we named it Poyno!" Houka exclaimed.

Their father looked at them with a smile, "I remember taking your mother there a few times. However, I remember coming home broke because I couldn't win her anything."

"Wow Tou-san, he got this for me on the third try and I got his fish on the first try," Houka smiled.

Isamu sighed and didn't say anything, while Miyuki smiled and went back to making the dinner.

**xXx**

When the dinner was done, everyone went to the living room to relax, when Kai spoke up, "Oh, Titan and I forgot to tell you. This Saturday the soccer club is having a banquet for the players and their families."

"Cool!" replied everyone.

"Yeah, we already said that there would be 11 people attending," explain Kai.

Tsubasa looked at his younger brother, "11?"

"Yes, me, Yuka-chan, Titan, Hou-nee, Ura-nee, Hikaru-sensei, Kaa-san, Tou-san, Aniki, Nai and Mare," explained Kai.

"So, you assume I would be going to your banquet for you and Titan, the day before my match?"

"Yes, because as you pointed out, it's the day before the match so I don't see why you can't go."

"What if I had plans with Mare-chan?"

"Do you?"

"Well, no, not until Sunday, but that's not the point," Tsubasa replied.

"Then you and Mare can come to the banquet," Kai smiled in victory.

"Butthead."

"Jerk."

"BOYS!" yelled Isamu.

"Hai tou-san?" asked both Kai and Tsubasa.

"Enough. We are all going and that is final," smiled Isamu.

"Hai tou-san," both wined, while the others held back giggles.

TBC…

**A/N: Well we hope you liked this chapter. Please leave us some reviews to let us know what you thought. Next chapter will have the Ozu family attending the banquet mentioned at the end of this chapter, however from that point on, things are going to change drastically and Houka and Titan's relationship will begin to go through an incredibly harsh trial. We hope you look forward to it. **

Re


	13. Chapter 13

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 13**

(A/N: Today was a rare opportunity. It's the first time since we were forced to move away from each other that we had the chance to collaborate over the internet on this story. We know it's been forever, so we worked extra hard on this one and it took most of the day, but we're glad with how this one turned out. We hope you will be as well, though you may want to reserve a tissue…)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters; the only character we own is our minor OC Hoshi [who was in chapters 6 and 7 and mentioned in 12])

It was late Saturday afternoon, just two hours before the big dinner for the soccer team and their families. Houka was in her room where Miyuki was helping her get ready. Houka had picked out one of her favorite, but very fancy dresses and needed her mother's help putting it on. It was pink and sleeveless, starting from thin straps on the shoulder, but wasn't low cut, and it flowed down her body to just above the ground. It was flattering to her figure and yet very modest. As Miyuki was zipping up the back of her daughter's dress, she noticed a worried look on her face.

"Houka-chan dear, what's the matter?" Miyuki asked.

"Kaa-san…earlier…the last time Titan-kun and I went on a date, he mentioned that a lot of girls in his school were hanging around him and admiring him for doing well in soccer lately…he asked me if I was jealous and I told him I wasn't…but now I'm not so sure. He gets to spend half the day with them and they're closer to his age…"

"Ah I see…so the green-eyed monster is starting to peek its ugly head at you," Miyuki replied, getting a comb and brush ready to do Houka's hair, "Well Houka-chan, those kinds of feelings are understandable. Titan-kun is the first boyfriend you've had that you're serious about. Now that you've devoted yourself to him, you're worried about losing him. However, I've seen the way he looks at you and acts around you. He adores you Houka-chan. I don't think you really have anything to worry about," she smiled.

"I don't like this feeling, Kaa-san, it's not me," Houka said.

"Well then, just remember that Titan-kun loves _you_ and not any of the other girls at school and you should be fine," Miyuki replied, "Now hold still so I can finish your hair and you can look pretty for your boyfriend."

XXX

Meanwhile Titan was getting ready as well. He was dressed in a white button-down shirt and black pants. It was a simple look, but it worked for him. He finished putting on a dark blue tie, but then untied it, thinking about something Isamu said to him earlier and smiled. Then thought about what else he wanted to do tonight. He opened the door and walked downstairs where Isamu was reading a newspaper, "Tou-san, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Isamu looked up from his paper and saw that Titan was having issues with finishing up, "Sure," he simply said and put his paper down and followed him to his room.

Titan looked Isamu in the eye, "Tou-san, I was thinking about giving Houka-chan a special present, but I hope it's not too soon."

This caused Isamu to raise his eyebrows, "That depends. What kind of present?" he asked seriously.

"There's a locket I saw recently that I've been saving up for and just bought. I thought it would look pretty on Houka-chan, plus it could have a picture of us," Titan replied.

"Oh, well then that's okay," Isamu replied then noticed Titan wasn't wearing a tie, "Need help with this?"

"Nope, I'm waiting until Houka-chan's done and ask for her help," Titan decided with a smile. Isamu chuckled understanding what he planned. Titan walked out with his tie in hand and saw Houka come out of her room in her new dress. Titan's eyes widened when he saw his lovely girlfriend and how her mother fixed her hair. It was slightly longer on the left side, going from the side of her head, covering her ear and just touching her shoulder. The right side of her hair was cut to just below her ear.

"Wow Houka-chan…you're so beautiful," Titan blushed and smiled, resisting the urge to hide his face.

"Thank you Titan-kun," Houka blushed back, "You look handsome tonight." They then approached each other and gave each other a hug before Titan took her hand.

"Could you help me with my tie please?" Titan asked.

"Hai!" Houka grinned and stood behind Titan. She used her MagiPhone to quickly conjure a mirror in front of them and she then wrapped her arms around Titan, kissing his cheek. He smiled and his heart raced at the closeness of this. She then tied the tie neatly and kissed him again, "There. You look great Titan-kun. Let's go downstairs and wait on the others." She then made the mirror disappear and the couple walked to the living room to wait. After about 20 minutes Kai, Tsubasa, and Makito were ready and joined their sister. Each one of them wore black dress pants and white shirts, but ties in their MagiRanger colors.

"Hey guys. Looking great for your dates I see," Houka teased.

"I'm just glad I told them in advance how many people we were bringing," Kai replied, "They were shocked. I guess they forgot we're a pretty large family."

"And it's gotten larger recently," a voice came from behind them. In a flash of light, Hikaru and Urara appeared along with Smokey, "with the brother-in-law," he joked.

"Hikaru-sensei! Ura-nee!" Everyone cheered. Hikaru was wearing navy colored pants and a jacket with a gold shirt underneath and a navy tie. Urara was wearing a dress similar to Houka's but light blue instead of pink. Her hair was loose and flowed on either side of her shoulders.

"Hi everyone!" Urara said cheerfully. She greeted her siblings and Titan with a hug each, "Thanks for inviting us!"

"Of course, you're still family. Just because you've married and moved out, that doesn't excuse you from family events," Makito joked.

"We're glad to be here," Hikaru said, "We brought Smokey to watch over the house tonight while we're all out."

"Yo!" Smokey grinned at everyone with the V for Victory sign.

"Glad to see everyone's here," Isamu announced. He was wearing dark violet pants and jacket with a crimson colored shirt underneath and a violet tie with a tie clip that had Wolzard Fire's symbol on it. Miyuki came down in a beautiful white dress that had snowflake patterns on the lower half. She wore her hair up in a bun and had pearl-colored chopsticks piercing the bun in a "X" pattern.

"Everyone looks wonderful tonight, shall we go," Miyuki smiled at her family.

XXX

The school auditorium was bustling with activity as the party started. The entire soccer team plus their families were all dressed in their finest clothes. There was a table with hors d'œuvres and punch set out for everyone to enjoy. There was also a dance floor set up and soft music was playing for any couple who wanted to dance. There were parents dancing as well as members of the soccer team with their significant other.

"This is a great party," Isamu commented.

"Yes it is," Miyuki replied, "Come on, let's meet some of the other parents."

"Umm…wouldn't you rather dance?" Isamu asked his wife nervously.

"Later," Miyuki smiled, "You forget, this is one fatherly duty you've missed out on. You need to be a little more active in Kai-chan's and Titan-kun's education and that means meeting other parents and teachers."

"Do I have to?" Isamu asked almost childlike.

"If you do, maybe you'll get a surprise later," Miyuki hinted.

"You always know how to twist my arm Miyuki," Isamu chuckled. Miyuki just gave him her best smile and took her husbands hand to go to where several other parents were talking.

XXX

Tsubasa and Makito just took a plate each of hors d'œuvres and sat down at an empty table.

"You did make sure the girls got invited didn't you?" Makito asked his younger brother.

"Of course I did. But they've been busy with their music career, so they said they weren't sure," Tsubasa replied causing Makito to sigh.

"I never seem to be able to keep a date," he put his face in his palms.

"Why do you say that Makito-kun?" Makito looked up and saw the smiling face of Nai.

"We're done with practice for the night and Sphinx-sama said she'd handle the rest of what needed to be done," Mare grinned. The two vampires were dressed in a completely new way. Instead of their usual Goth-style, they wore formal black dresses. They were sleeveless and had only one wide strap instead of two thin ones. Nai's strap was on her right shoulder, Mare's on the left. There were sequins running from the bust all the way down to the waist which had a deep purple sash tied around it. The rest of the dress flowed down and ended just above the ankle. There was a slit on one side of the lower half, the same side as the bare shoulder respectively, to allow their legs extra room to move and to show them off to their guys. Nai wore her hair up in a traditional bun while Mare let her hair flow loose. They also had red lipstick and nail polish instead of their usual darker colors.

"Wow, you two look breathtaking," Tsubasa said.

"I agree. You're quite beautiful tonight…not that you're not beautiful every night…it's just this is a new look for you," Makito replied nervously causing the girls to giggle.

"That's the idea silly," Nai said.

"We're clebs now, remember," Mare whispered, "We wanted to go out with our boyfriends without being recognized, so we decided to dress more 'normal.' What do you think Tsubasa-kun?"

"I'm overwhelmed," Tsubasa replied honestly, "I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the room."

"No that would be me," Makito chimed in.

"I think it worked," Nai grinned to Mare.

"Yeah this is fun already," Mare smiled back at her sister, "Come on guys let's dance!" she moved and took Tsubasa's hands and led him to the dance floor. He chivalrously kissed Mare's hand before beginning to dance. Makito was still awestruck and didn't even realize Nai led him to the dance floor until her arms were around him and she was patiently waiting. He took the hint and began to move them with the slow beat of the music. Looking over their shoulders, Makito and Tsubasa saw that Urara and Hikaru were enjoying a close slow dance of their own, just gazing into each other's eyes and not saying a word.

XXX

Kai was standing patiently at one corner of the room, watching Yuka chatting with her parents and then walking around the room greeting the other members of the soccer team and their families that weren't busy on the dance floor. It was the price he paid for having the class representative as his girlfriend. She had a lot of social obligations she had to meet before being able to do what she wanted. However the view was very nice. Yuka was wearing a formal red dress, sleeveless but had two wide shoulder straps. The dress slightly hugged each of her curves, but still left enough to the imagination. When she was done making her way around the room, Yuka smiled widely when her eyes met his and he waved at her, making his way across the room and they met in a soft embrace.

"Kai-chan, I hope you weren't waiting on me too long," Yuka said with a little concern.

"No it's okay I understand. You're a very important person to the school and you helped organize this party. Plus I liked seeing you walk around in that dress," Kai replied with a smile and small kiss, "but you're even more important to me."

Yuka blushed slightly, then returned the kiss, "And you're just as important to me…would you like to dance?"

"I've been looking forward to dancing with you all day," Kai replied with a boyish grin, leading his girlfriend to the dance floor. They smiled at each other as they wrapped their hands behind each other's heads and began to sway.

XXX

Thankfully, Houka and Titan obviously didn't have to wait for their dates and as soon as they arrived and saw the dance floor, they went to it immediately and enjoyed the music and the company of the one they love.

"I fell so lucky," Titan said, holding Houka close to him, "I have the prettiest girl in the world to dance with."

"And you're dancing so well too. I know you've definitely improved," Houka replied, running her fingers through Titan's white spiky hair before kissing him softly on the lips.

"Houka-chan I love you," Titan smiled, then returned the kiss but being careful not to mess up her hair, which he was really enjoying, "And thank you so much. It was because of your help that this is happening."

"What do you mean?" Houka asked out of curiosity.

"When I started at this school, everyone rejected me until I joined this team. True it was thanks to everyone's support, but it was _your_ encouragement I needed the most. You're always thinking of me and took an interest in my school life and my soccer playing."

"Well I think you look cute in your soccer uniform," Houka joked. Titan chuckled, "but yes, I really am happy that you're doing well. You're my boyfriend, I want you to do your best and I know you can expect great things from yourself once you try."

"The greatest thing of all though, is being with you," Titan replied. Then they pulled apart when that song ended. Houka smiled and moved to the nearest table and Titan joined her. He looked in thought for a moment but then they got interrupted.

"Hello Titan-kun!" he looked up to see his classmate Hoshi, who was wearing a dark green formal gown, and smiled at seeing his friend, "Houka-san, it's good to see you again too. How are you two liking the party?"

"It's been great. Houka-chan's a good dancer," Titan smiled and held Houka's hand as he said this.

"Thanks, but you're wonderful as well," Houka replied.

"I saw. You guys looked like you were having fun," Hoshi replied.

"Houka-chan's always fun," Titan smiled.

"I can see that," Hoshi smiled at the happy pair, "So Titan-kun…remember I wanted to talk to you about something?"

"Oh yes, what we discussed after class earlier," Titan nodded in reply.

"Well…would you like to dance while we talk?" Hoshi offered.

"Only if it's okay with Houka-chan," Titan said looking at his girlfriend.

Houka looked at the two of them, _"It seemes that they're only just friends; Hoshi wasn't giving him special looks or anything. It seems innocent enough, but on the other hand they're being very vague about this…then again I promised myself I wouldn't let myself feel jealousy." _"Go ahead have fun. I need a small break anyways," Houka replied with a smile.

"I'll be back soon," Titan promised and then gave Houka a brief but deep kiss on her lips before leading his friend to the dance floor.

Houka looked at them and sighed. She got up from the table when Titan wasn't looking and headed to the ladies' room. Frustrated at herself, she slammed the door open and rushed in. She approached the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. "Why are you acting like this Houka-chan? It's not like you!" she yelled at her reflection.

"Hou-nee?" A voice from a nearby stall called out weakly. Houka quickly rushed to it and opened the door to find her sister bent over the toilet.

"Ura-nee? Are you alright?" Houka asked.

"Remember when you asked me what it was like making love to a Heavenly Saint? Well it was great, but it seems you have to pay a price," Urara groaned, "I never expected morning sickness to first hit me in the evening…"

"I don't know why they call it that, it can hit at any time of the day from what I hear," Houka replied moving closer to support her younger sister, "But it's all part of a healthy pregnancy. Is now a good time to tell the others?"

"Forget that for now," Urara said, clutching her belly, "You sound upset. What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you want to talk about me when you're like this?" Houka asked.

"I'll be fine for a few minutes I think," Urara replied sickly and slowly standing up, but still using Houka for support.

"Well…one of Titan-kun's classmates approached us. I met her briefly once before. She was his first real friend outside of the family and Yuka-chan who already knows his secret. Anyways she asked him to dance and he accepted."

"Really? Without asking you first? That doesn't sound like him," Urara replied in thought.

"Oh he asked me first and I said it was okay…" Houka said.

"Then he thinks you wouldn't have a problem with it. You know better than anyone how he thinks. If it bothered you, you shouldn't have let him."

"But it's confusing…I know I love him and he loves me and he'd never look at anyone else like he does at me, but I still feel this way. I was hoping that letting him dance with a girl that was just a friend would help me get over this jealousy. It's completely unfounded."

"Your problem may be that you're not being honest with him. You told him you weren't jealous but you are. If you admit it to him, it could help," Urara suggested.

"But I don't want him to be mad at me. I don't want him to think he can't have friends that are girls outside of me. That's not fair to him!" Houka looked like she was ready to cry.

"I know it'll be hard to talk about this, but if you don't you could be seriously risking your relationship with Titan-kun, and I don't want to see either of you hurt. So go to him before you can't," Urara encouraged, "I mean now. You can't put this off. Hurry!" Houka nodded and quickly left the restroom. "Oh Saints!" Urara cursed as she bent over the toilet again.

XXX

"So Titan-kun, are you going through with what you planned?" Hoshi asked her friend as they danced. Earlier, Titan confided in her and Yuka that he wanted to give Houka a special present and asked the ladies for their suggestions. It was thanks to their help that he picked out the locket he planned to give his girlfriend.

"Yes I am. Maybe when she gets back," Titan replied. Soon after that, Hoshi noticed that Houka had left and entered the ladies' room in a huff.

"Uh oh, something's wrong with Houka-chan," Hoshi observed.

"What is it?" Titan panicked for a second and was about to go after her but Hoshi stopped him.

"Whatever it is, she's in 'no-man's land.' The women's restroom. You'll just have to wait for her to get out before you ask," Hoshi replied. As she said that, the brief song ended and they returned to their table and Houka returned, though still looking slightly upset. "Well guys, it's been fun, but I'll go see what some of the others are up to," Hoshi said, "Have a good evening and don't worry, she'll love it." With that she got up and went to join some more of her classmates.

"Houka-chan…what's wrong?" Titan asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Titan-kun…there's something I think we need to talk about," Houka replied hesitantly, "Let's go outside the auditorium so we can be alone." Titan nodded and walked his girlfriend outside. When they were he noticed that Houka was near the brink of tears.

"Houka-chan? Did I do something wrong?" Titan panicked.

"No Titan-kun I did…I lied to you," Houka said, her voice cracking, "I lied to you about being jealous. I said I wasn't but I was! I didn't want to be though! I know you'd never betray me but I still felt that way!" She desperately clung to Titan, tears in her eyes, hoping he'd understand.

"Houka-chan," Titan said softly, he gently pushed her away slowly, "I've always depended on you for your love and support. It's thanks to you that I have friends and now that I do, it upsets you? I thought you were happy for me. I thought this is what you wanted for me. I thought you trusted me and trusted our feelings for each other. We were told that we should always be honest with each other and…and you lied Houka-chan…it hurts."

"Titan-kun…I'm so sorry," Houka cried.

"It hurts! I was just enjoying some time with my friend and now I feel like I just did something wrong, even though you said it was okay earlier, I feel like it's wrong now! Do you want me to give up my friends that are girls? Would that make you happy?"

"No Titan-kun, that's not fair to you or them," Houka shook her head, the tears still falling.

"But it hurts you that I do have them. I don't know why though, they know I have someone and they understand. I like them, but I _love_ you! I don't want to give you up, but I don't want to give them up either. No matter what I pick, it will hurt!" Titan cried and reached into his pocket, "I wanted to give this to you tonight, but I don't know now…I…I need to go for a run. Tell the others not to wait up for me." He placed his gift in front of Houka and then turned around and jogged off into the night. Houka bent down and picked up the small box in front of her and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver locket with a pink gem in the center. She opened it up and there was an engraving on the inside: _"TO MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE, ALWAYS FOREVER." _Houka clutched the locket to her heart, then crouched down and wept.

(A/N: Well how did you like this one? Please leave some reviews to let us know what you thought. We know this one ended on a sad note, but we did say earlier that they're about to go through a rough patch. We can't promise on a definite time we can get the next chapter done, but know that we will get to it eventually. We love this story too much to let it die.)


	14. Chapter 14

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 14**

(A/N: Sorry it took so long to get to this, but it's been extremely difficult to find time to get online together to collaborate. PhinalPhantasy has a new job that takes up most of his time and Mysticfireblood's internet access is sporadic. Anyways, we hope that this chapter was worth the wait.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters, we just own our minor OC Hoshi.)

A small rumble of thunder sounded, followed by the sound of pouring rain which interrupted the various activities that were going on at the party. Kai and Yuka broke apart from their dance for a second and looked around, making sure the rest of their family and friends were indoors.

"Kai-chan, I don't see Titan-kun or Houka-chan anywhere," Yuka said with a little worry.

"I don't either…wait there's Hou-nee, but it looks like something's wrong," Kai replied, seeing Houka crouched on the ground outside and letting the downpour drench her.

"Oh my God, she'll get sick if she stays out there too long," Yuka added, "Let's get her in out of the rain." The two of them quickly rushed outside and approached the elder sister of the Ozu family.

"Hou-nee," Kai said gently putting a hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong? Come inside so we can talk," but all he heard was his sister's sobbing.

"Houka-chan, you'll get sick, please come inside," Yuka insisted, but then looked around, "Where's Titan-kun?" she asked.

"He's…he's gone!" Houka cried out then turned around and clutched to her brother, "And it's my fault!"

Kai and Yuka looked shocked, "What could've possibly happened between you two…never mind, we can talk inside, let's go," Kai said gently but firmly.

"NO! I've got to wait for him to come back!" Houka insisted, "He was right to leave, all I can do is hope he comes back. I don't want to leave until he does."

"Hou-nee…I don't think he'd want you to get sick. Come on. Everyone will be worried."

"What if he comes back here and doesn't find me?" Houka said irrationally.

"He knows where his home is, doesn't he?" Yuka asked, "He'll know to find you there if nowhere else. Please do what your brother says, I don't think Titan-kun could be upset enough to want you to risk your health. Let's just go inside and talk." Houka nodded weakly, then Kai and Yuka helped her get to her feet and brought her back inside the auditorium to a table in the far side of the room away from notice from most of the other students.

"Come with me to the bathroom and we'll get you as dry as we can," Yuka said, "We'll be back in a few minutes Kai-chan," she added. By then, the other members of the Ozu family and their significant others noticed what was going on and went to the table.

"What's wrong?" Makito asked.

"Something happened between Titan-kun and Hou-nee," Kai replied, "Yuka is in the bathroom trying to help her dry off, she's been sitting out there in that rain for God knows how long."

"Come on Mare, let's go help," Nai said.

"Yes help," Mare replied, "We'll be back soon guys."

"Urara's still in there last I checked, could you see if she's okay too?" Hikaru asked.

"No problem," Mare said. Then she and Nai entered the bathroom where they saw Urara and Yuka taking a wad of paper towels and drying off Houka as best they could.

"Houka-chan, what happened?" Nai asked, "Things between you and Titan-kun were doing so well up to now."

"He…he left me…" Houka sobbed, "because I lied to him, because I got jealous of his friends when I promised myself I wouldn't…look what he wanted to give to me," she showed the other girls the necklace Titan had made for her.

"Oh wow…" Urara said looking at the inscription, "I knew he loved you, but this is serious…"

"It's very sweet," Nai said peeking over.

"Yeah, I'm so sorry Houka-chan," Mare said.

"So am I," Yuka added, "I think you should know that Hoshi and I helped him pick out that gift…you have nothing to worry about with me for obvious reasons, and you shouldn't worry about her, we both support you guys."

"Oh I'm so sorry Yuka-chan," Houka said, "I owe Hoshi an apology too."

"But not before you apologize to Titan-kun," Urara said firmly.

"I _tried_ but he got upset and left," Houka pleaded, "He's out there, alone in this storm…what if something happens to him? Oh God I'll never forgive myself!"

"Calm down Houka-chan," Urara said, "We don't need you getting sick. Let's ask the guys to go look for him, okay?" Houka nodded weakly

"I think we should get you home now," Urara said. She gently led her sister back out into the auditorium where it looked like the party was winding down anyways. Isamu and Miyuki had joined the rest of the group at their table.

"Kai-chan told us what happened. I'm so sorry Houka-chan," Miyuki said.

"Kaa-san," Houka moved to her mother and the older woman embraced her, "I messed up big this time. I wasn't honest with him and he's gone out there…I don't know where."

"We should look for him, it's getting pretty nasty outside," Isamu said with a little worry.

"I'll look for him Hou-nee," Kai said cheerfully, "He can't be that far can he?"

"I don't know, he's pretty fast too remember," Tsubasa said, "I'll help you look for him."

"Thanks you two," Houka replied.

"Hey Aniki, could you take Yuka-chan home for me?" Kai asked.

"No problem. You guys better hurry," Makito replied.

"Come on Chii-nii!" Kai said rushing out the door, his older sibling soon behind him.

XXX

It was getting really late, close to midnight at the beach and it was still raining hard. Titan was sitting down on a large flat rock, staring out into the dark horizon, not caring that he was soaked to the bone. "Why," he called out to nowhere, "Why would she do that to me? Doesn't she trust me anymore? What am I supposed to do now? Can I even go home after this?" He got up and picked up a flat round stone and threw it towards the sea where it made a nice plop, "She would love to come here, if it wasn't storming," he sighed, and wiped his eyes, but which drops were rain and which were tears, he couldn't tell. "If nothing else, maybe Nai and Mare will take me in," he hoped out loud. Titan then heard the sound of something flying towards him. Looking into the air he saw MagiRed and MagiYellow on their Sky Hoki. They jumped down from their brooms and de-henshined.

"There you are," Kai said, "We've been very worried about you."

"Especially Hou-nee," Tsubasa added, "You should come home with us, it's pretty late and you need to dry off."

"I don't know if I can come home. Houka-chan really hurt me; I don't know if I can see her everyday knowing that she lied to me," Titan replied, "I'm thinking of asking Nai and Mare to take me in…"

"You shouldn't give up so easily!" Kai said, "Hou-nee still loves you with all her heart. Please forgive her."

"If she did, she would've been honest with me from the beginning," Titan said stubbornly.

"She was scared Titan-kun," Kai said, "Of exactly this kind of reaction if she did tell you from the beginning. I'm not saying she was right to do so, but I think you should at least understand her feelings before you give up on her."

"We're all human Titan-kun," Tsubasa added, "None of us are perfect, even the ones we love the most are capable of making mistakes. I know you're hurting right now, but if you don't forgive her, you'll be hurting yourself and her even more. You and Hou-nee are lucky to even have each other. I know what it's like to lose the person you love. It's the kind of pain that will never go away completely. I wouldn't wish it on either of you, but if you don't realize that you both will make mistakes once in a while, that pain will become very real for you."

"There may come a time when you do something that could hurt Hou-nee, even if you didn't mean to," Kai said, "Wouldn't you want her to forgive you?"

"Do you really think I could hurt Houka-chan?" Titan asked shocked.

"Not intentionally, no, but it is possible for you to do it without wanting to," Tsubasa said, "In fact she's hurting a lot right now."

"It took a lot for us to get her out of the rain and convince her to come home. She would've waited out there all night for you I think, even at the risk of her health," Kai pointed out.

"You're a member of our family don't forget," Tsuabsa pointed out, "You just can't run away from the ones who care about you when things get tough. It's during those times you need them the _most._ You still love our sister, right? You've gotten to know her a lot over the past several weeks so you tell us: doesn't she deserve another chance?"

Titan thought back to all the fun times he had with his girlfriend. He hoped that this one night wouldn't destroy all of his wonderful experiences with her. Then he realized, "It's really up to me isn't it?"

"Yes it is, so what do you say? Are you going to give up on Hou-nee because of one misunderstanding, or are you going to let the two of you learn from this and be closer than ever?" Tsubasa insisted.

"Okay then," Titan replied, "Let's go home."

"Great! I don't know about the two of you, but I'm getting cold from this rain and I don't think it's a good idea to be at the beach during a storm," Kai pointed out. He and his brother henshined and got on their Sky Hoki, Titan sat behind Kai on his. It only took a few minutes to return to the Ozu home and when they arrived, only Miyuki and Isamu were there to greet them.

"Kai-chan, Tsubasa-chan, Titan-kun, welcome home," Miyuki greeted them cheerfully.

"Makito took Yuka-chan home safely and is on his way back," Isamu informed his youngest son, "And Urara and Hikaru went back to Magitopia; apparently Urara wasn't feeling well and had to get home right away."

"I'll have to thank Aniki when he gets back," Kai said.

"I hope Ura-nee's okay," Tsubasa added.

"Titan-kun, Houka is up in her room…" Miyuki said.

"Thanks," Titan began to run up the stairway before she could finish.

"Titan wait a second!" Isamu shouted, but it was too late, everyone downstairs heard Houka's high pitched scream. Isamu was about to rush towards his daughter, but Miyuki put a firm hand on Isamu's shoulder.

"It'll be okay, trust me," she told him.

XXX

As Houka was drenched from the storm, she thought it'd be a good idea to get ready to take a nice hot bath to warm up and also think things over as soon as she got home, so once she was in her room, she quickly stripped out of her soaked clothes and found her pink bathrobe, which she was in the middle of putting on when suddenly the door opened and Titan was standing at the entrance.

"Houka-chan I'm home," he announced, but then his eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his face turned a deep red all at once as Houka let out an ear-piercing cry, "Houka-chan…I'm so sorry!" he said, trying to avert his gaze but between Houka's scream and the eye-full he was getting of her body, he was like a deer caught in headlights. Finally Houka threw her wet clothes at his face, driving him out the door with a grunt before she slammed it shut. "Now I forgot what I was going to say…" he thought out loud. He was still blushing and thought it better to wait for Houka to calm down and was about to go back down the stairs when the door opened again and this time Houka was covered by her robe.

"Titan-kun. I'm sorry, that was a reflex," Houka said sadly when she saw Titan wasn't looking at her

"No I'm sorry, I should've knocked first," Titan replied hesitantly, still not turning around.

"No I should've locked the door, but it's okay to look now, I'm covered," Houka said. She reached out with her hand but pulled it back, not wanting to upset him further. Titan turned around and took her hand before she could retract it completely, "Titan-kun…" she said.

"I didn't mean to see anything," he said in his child-like manner that Houka had come to love.

"Well did you at least like what you saw?" Houka giggled.

"Uma…uma…uma…" Titan blushed and stammered.

"I'm sorry Titan-kun, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable," Houka replied, "In fact, I'm still so very sorry about tonight. I'll understand if you don't want me anymore, but please at least let us still be friends," she pleaded.

"It's okay Houka-chan…I forgive you. I still love you and I don't want what we have to be over. Your brothers helped me understand that. If you know how I feel for you is stronger than what I feel for my friends then I still want you as my girlfriend, but please, no more jealousy. I don't like that part of you."

"Okay Titan-kun, deal. No more jealousy…I still love you and I want us to be together," Houka nodded.

"Do you still have that present I wanted to give you?" Titan asked.

"Oh my God," Houka exclaimed. She went over to the pile of wet clothes to find her jacket and rummaged through its pockets. Titan was very careful to turn away as she bent down this time and then he felt a tap on his shoulder, "Found it," Houka said with relief.

"So did you get a good look at it?" Titan asked.

"Yes and I love it…can I still have it?" Houka asked cheerfully.

"Yes, this can be our promise not to let another stupid argument break us up again," Titan replied. He then took the box out of her hands and opened it up seeing the necklace was still safe. Smiling he took one end in each hand, then wrapped his arms around Houka's neck and clasped the necklace together, "I love you, Houka-chan."

Houka smiled and hugged Titan close to her, "I love you too Titan-kun," she then kissed him softly on the lips but Titan had other ideas. He licked her lips, surprising her, but she let him in and they began to dance in each other's mouths, Titan holding her as close as possible to him. Just as they were about to lose themselves in the moment, Houka felt damp all of a sudden. She gasped in surprise and pulled back.

"What is it?" Titan asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No it's not that…it's just…you're soaking wet and I didn't realize it!" Houka giggled.

"Oh I forgot too," Titan chuckled back and they were both laughing.

"Seriously though, you should get changed too. I don't want you getting sick," Houka said

"Alright then, I'll go to my room and get ready to shower after you're done," Titan replied. He gave her another quick kiss, "I love you Houka-chan."

"I love you too Titan-kun," Houka smiled, then turned around and skipped towards the bathroom, happy that her boyfriend had forgiven her.

(A/N: Well we hope that you enjoyed this chapter. We can't say when the next one will be; just that it'll have to be a weekend. Anyways, your reviews, as always are very welcome.)


	15. Chapter 15

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 15**

(A/N: Sorry it took so long to get to this, but the same difficulties we have being able to collaborate still exist. It's sad, but we will still be trying our best to update whenever possible)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters, we just own our minor OC Hoshi.)

Titan was smiling as Houka drove him to school again. Things between the two were great again, despite the little accidental peeping from the night before when they tried to apologize to each other. As Houka pulled up to the school, she fingered the necklace that Titan had given her last night and smiled.

"I'm glad you like it Houka-chan," Titan smiled at her, kissing her cheek.

"It's a present from you, how could I not like it," Houka giggled as Titan kept planting kisses on her cheek, "You just don't want to go to school do you?"

"Well, I heard this is one of the harshest times…something called midterms. Kai sounded like it was something to be dreaded when he explained it to me," Titan admitted, "but I so love kissing you."

"Oh that idiot brother of mine," Houka laughed, "You're very smart Titan-kun, you'll do great. Now go before you're late."

"Okay, I love you Houka-chan!"

"I love you too Titan-kun!" she replied, holding his hand until he left her pink VW bug and he walked grinning to enter the school, taking a moment to notice that Kai and Yuka were at a corner of the hallway joined at the lips. Titan smiled and decided to leave them alone as he entered the classroom; they had a few minutes before the bell would ring anyways. He sat down next to Hoshi who smiled at him.

"Titan-kun, is everything alright? Last night everyone was so worried about you," she said, "I heard that Houka-chan really hurt you."

"Yes she did, but we made up," Titan smiled at his friend, "You don't have to worry, things between us are good again. And thanks for your help in picking out that necklace, she loved it."

"I'm glad I could help," Hoshi returned the smile and then they turned their attention to the front of the class as Kai and Yuka walked in exactly 10 seconds before the bell rang.

"Well, I was wondering if our class president and star soccer player would ever join us this morning, you guys are usually here early," the teacher smirked at them as they blushed and took their seats.

"Sorry sensei," Yuka said

"Don't worry, Yuka-chan always makes sure we're here on time and ready," Kai added.

"I'm sure she does. Now let's review for our midterms."

XXX

Titan, Kai, and Yuka were mentally exhausted after the review they went through. After Titan and Yuka were confident in their own academic prowess, they spent a good amount of time making sure Kai was at the level he needed to be before the tests. It wasn't that Kai wasn't smart, it's getting him to take it seriously that was the initial problem, but when Yuka promised that they wouldn't sneak to their little corner before classes again until he passed his tests, that was all the motivation he needed. Now that class was over for the day, it was time to practice for the other harsh part of the semester, the division championship for the school soccer team. Hoshi joined Yuka at the sidelines cheering their team on as they practiced. In this practice match, Titan and Kai were on opposing teams.

"Go Kai-chan!" Yuka cheered her boyfriend on as he gained possession of the ball from Titan and was making a beeline for the goal. He kicked it up into the air, then jumped up and did a midair summersault to kick it towards the goal. The ball made it dead center as Kai landed safely.

"That breaks the tie, but there's still 2 minutes left in the match," Yuka informed them as they continued.

"Titan-kun go for it!" Hoshi shouted to her friend as he stole possession from one of the other players. He made a powerful kick but Kai intercepted it and was heading towards the goal once again.

"Not this time Kai," Titan grinned and when Kai launched the ball in the air, Titan head butted it back towards his side of the field. Then the team was in a race to retrieve the ball and Titan moved to a position where he had a clear shot to the goal and waited for one of his teammates to pass it to him. He intercepted a midair pass and jumped and kicked sideways to get the ball to the goal.

"That's time!" Yuka called out.

"Horray it's a tie!" Titan joked.

"We can't end it like this," Kai complained.

"Why not, it's not like it's a real match, this is just practice and everyone's done great," Yuka replied, "And it'd be bad for morale if your fellow teammates outscored each other. I think we're ready for the championship. Let's call it a day." Everyone on the team agreed and after hitting the showers, everyone was walking home. Kai took Yuka's hand in his, promising to walk her home.

"Are you coming Titan-kun?" Kai asked.

"Nah, you two have fun. I'm gonna make a detour to get Houka-chan a little something just because," Titan replied.

"Aww how sweet," Yuka smiled, "Kai, it's been a while since you did that," she teased her boyfriend.

"What are you talking about? What about the time I left a nice card at your locker…"

"Hey Titan-kun, I'm a little thirsty, mind if I tag along with you and we can get ourselves some smoothies?" Hoshi asked, taking his attention away from their other friends.

"Sure, sounds great, I'm pretty thirsty after practice anyways," Titan replied.

XXX

Titan and Hoshi arrived at the mall and decided to get their drinks first before he looked for a new gift for Houka. They found the shop that specialized in smoothies and stood in line. Then Titan had a slightly uncomfortable feeling.

"Hoshi," he asked handing her some money, "Can you go buy mine for me? I'll be right back."

"Sure thing," Hoshi smiled back at him, pointing at a booth, "I'll meet you over there okay?"

"Great. Make mine a grape smoothie please!" Titan called as he headed for the nearest restroom. A few minutes later, feeling refreshed, he found Hoshi waving to him from the booth she picked out. He nodded and walked over to join her.

"Here's your change," she said handing him some coins.

"Thanks," he smiled at her and took it then his smoothie, taking a large sip and gulping it down.

"I'm glad to see you so happy again," Hoshi said looking across the table, "I was really worried about you earlier…"

"Oh? I appreciate that. I really do, but Houka-chan and I, we have a very strong bond that won't be broken by one bad incident. It's already behind us," Titan replied, "Our love is very much still strong."

"I wish I could have something like that," Hoshi smiled sadly.

"You're a great person Hoshi-chan, I'm sure you will find someone just as good for you."

"Thanks. but enough about me. When we're done here what are you getting your Houka-chan," she asked eagerly.

"I think a nice card will do," Titan decided.

"Okay then. Want me to help you pick it out?"

"I think I want to do that myself, but I don't mind if you tag along," Titan hinted.

"Great, then let's finish our drinks and go shopping!"

XXX

After Kai dropped Yuka off at her home, he returned to his own and just past the front gate he looked over at Makito's garden seeing him in his overalls, but to his surprise, Nai was kneeling over the garden as well, also wearing overalls and a black t-shirt.

"Aniki! So you're sharing your hobby with your girlfriend I see," Kai teased.

"Ah, but gardening is more than my hobby, it's my way of life," Makito grinned back at his younger brother, then he put his arm around Nai's shoulder, "I think that being close to someone as special to me as she is, I should share every aspect of my life with her," he said kissing her on the cheek making her giggle.

"If you treat me _half_ as well as you treat your garden, I'll be a lucky woman," she joked.

"Ah," Makito said, "If you treat your garden with love and respect, it will produce some really great vegetables that you can then prepare with even more love because it's for your family. That's why _Aniki Salad_ is a staple of this house…however with a lovely woman…you must treat her even better!" he declared boldly before wrapping his arms around her and gently rolled around on the ground with her for a few seconds, both of them laughing, but when they stopped, they were lost in each other's eyes and simultaneously moved in for a passionate kiss, causing Kai to avert his gaze and walk into the house.

"_Aniki needs his privacy…besides who'd want to see their Aniki have a make-out session anyways?" _he thought sticking his tongue out. He looked around, "Tsu-nii! Hou-nee! Tou-san! Kaa-san!" he called out for his remaining family members. He saw a note taped to the kitchen door

_Everyone,_

_Your Kaa-san and I are going out to dinner alone tonight. She has made a great dinner for you to have, all you need to do is reheat it. And if you bring your significant others into the house tonight…don't do anything I wouldn't do ;)_

_Tou-san_

"Well that answers what happened to those two, but where are the others?" Kai asked out loud.

XXX

High in the skies above the city, out of the visual range of most of the citizens, Tsubasa was cheering as he raced in the air on his Sky Hoki, enjoying the feel of his passenger's arms wrapped around his waist.

"Enjoying the ride, Mare-chan?" Tsubasa peeked behind at his girlfriend who clung tightly to his body.

"Please slow down!" she called into his ear. Tsubasa did so, bringing them to a midair halt where they just hovered.

"I'm sorry, I thought you'd have fun with this," Tsubasa said with deep regret in his voice.

"I thought so too, but I guess when I'm not part of Vancuria, I'm a little afraid of high speed flying. This is nice though," she relaxed her grip a little but rested her chin on her boyfriend's shoulder, then nipped at his ear gently making shivers run down his spine.

"Mare," he breathed her name heavily causing her to giggle right into his ear and they were so close, he could feel her gentle frame shake with the laughter. Tsubasa took one of her hands into his own and kissed her wrist and up her arm as far as he could in this position. This encouraged the little vampire who moved down to Tsubasa's neck and she planted small kisses on it before licking it and as she was about to move in she pulled back and let out a small sob.

"Mare-chan what's wrong?" Tsubasa asked, still holding on to her hand.

"I really love this Tsubasa, I really am. Not just this date, but our whole relationship and I'd like to keep going with what I was doing, but I'm afraid of what I might do to you if my instincts take over. It's not just me, Nai-chan has told me that she and Makito-kun are starting to get close but she has to hesitate like this too. I think she's hesitating with him even as we speak. Our bond as sisters, we can sense each other's strongest emotions even this far apart. We agreed to give each other privacy when we're with you, when things were going great, but all we feel is frustration and sadness when we get to this point and even at this distance I can feel some small part of her torment. Tsubasa…I want to be more intimate with you, maybe not everything all at once, but more than what we have now and I'm sure Nai feels the same about Makito!"

"I see…" Tsubasa blushed heavily. He knew that things were starting to go very well between them, but he wasn't expecting this issue to come up _this_ soon, "I would like that very much too, but I understand the dilemma…" he then took her hands and kissed them softly, "But don't worry, out of all the Magirangers, I'm the potion master! I'll work hard to find a formula for Makito and I to be immune to the effects of a vampire's bite if that is what is necessary for us to become closer as a couple. I love you and I won't give up so easily!"

"Oh thank you Tsubasa! I love you too!" Mare squealed and wrapped her arms around him tightly once again and kissed his cheek, "Let's go back down and tell Makito and Nai the good news! And was that the first time we used the 'L-word' on each other?"

"Maybe, but I felt that our actions spoke to each other louder than any words," Tsubasa replied. When they descended back towards the house they saw that Nai looked upset and was heading to the gate to leave with Makito behind her holding her hand to slow her down.

"I'm sorry Nai-chan! I didn't mean to do that without your consent! Please don't leave I promise to try better to be the gentleman you deserve!" Makito begged, thinking he did something wrong when he was starting to let his male instincts assert themselves.

"It's not you!" Nai said turning around to him, "I liked what you did, I really did," she whispered, "it's just…we can't do things like that…I might hurt you or worse! Don't you understand?"

"It might be worth it. I love you!" Makito declared boldly making Nai blush.

"I love you too you idiot! But you're going to have to trust that I'm looking out for your best interests."

"Guys!" Tsubasa called from above, him and Mare jumping off the Sky Hoki and allowing it to return inside, "I think we all need to talk, let's go inside and we can figure this out."

XXX

Houka arrived at a shop specializing in baby and maternity supplies in her pink VW. She got out smiling when she saw her sister waiting for her at the entrance.

"If we're going to a place like this, shouldn't you tell the others about your pregnancy?" Houka asked Urara after a brief hug.

"I guess so. It's been long enough. I guess I was overly worried that something bad would happen, but so far things have been great…other than the morning sickness of course," Urara replied, "But after we finish shopping. I'm going to need maternity clothes and I want to get a head start on getting supplies for the baby."

"Well I don't think you have to worry about baby supplies. Everyone will go all out with your baby shower I think," Houka hinted, "but if that's what you want to do, let's go shopping!"

"It's too early to determine if it's a boy or girl I think, so let's just get stuff we know doesn't matter what gender the baby is," Urara said once they were inside.

"Great so…bottles, bathing supplies, stuff like that," Houka confirmed, "And we also got to get some cute clothes for you. Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you can't entice Hikaru-sensei every once in a while," she winked.

XXX

Titan just finished his romantic errand and after writing a brief message in the card, he sealed it up and put it in his backpack where it wouldn't get ruined. "Thanks for tagging along Hoshi-chan, this has been a fun afternoon."

"Great. I think I can see myself home," Hoshi replied, "See you later."

"Okay have a great night," Titan replied. He turned around and started to walk home, but after a block or two, he felt woozy, "What's wrong? I didn't work _that_ hard in practice today," he said planting his hand on his forehead, "And I felt refreshed after the trip to the mall…I don't know what's wrong…with me…" then he dropped to the ground and he struggled to remain awake but the darkness overcame him as he saw a figure approach…

XXX

Houka and Urara had finished their own shopping trip. They managed to get several different types of bottles and baby shampoos and oil and some unisex clothes for the future member of the Ozu family. Urara also got several outfits both casual and formal in several different sizes in anticipation for the next several months.

"That was a fun day shopping Ura-nee," Houka grinned brightly.

"Yeah it was," Urara replied and blushed slightly, "I still can't believe you talked me into getting those few customized linguries," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Houka replied innocently, "Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean that you and Hikaru-sensei should stop having your fun. I'm sure he'll find you just as attractive or maybe even more so than he did the night you concieved the little miracle inside your body. Just promise me you'll try?"

"Houka-chan!" Urara blushed again earning a giggle from her sister. Then Houka heard her MagiPhone rining.

"It's Titan-kun," Houka said as she picked it up, her turn to blush but she was smiling as well, "Moshi Moshi!" she called into the reciever.

"Ozu Houka," a very deep and sinister sounding voice was on the other end of the line.

"Titan-kun?" Houka said worried, "If this is a joke, it's not funny."

"This is no joke. Your boyfriend now belongs to me. There is no ransom demand. I have what I want and you will never see him again. Do not attempt to find me or I will end his life." Then the phone went dead and Houka dropped her phone, her skin suddenly paling and her hand went over her heart as a sharp pain shot through it. Her mouth was wide open, she wanted to shout, but no sound came out and she almost fell to the ground, but Urara caught her.

"Houka-chan! Houka-chan! Answer me! What's wrong?" the younger sister panicked.

"Titan-kun…kidnapped…" was all the older sister could get out.

"Oh dear God," Urara gasped, "We should get home right away and figure out what to do. I'll drive," she said supporting her older sister as they walked to her car, "Don't worry Houka-chan, we'll get him back. I promise," she said.

(A/N: Well how's that for a little twist in the story. We're thinking this event is the beginning of the end of this story so we hope you'll stick with us for the climactic last few chapters. Next chapter the Ozu family gathers to try to determine how to handle this and Titan regains consciousness. Where is he and who abducted him?)


	16. Chapter 16

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 16**

(A/N: Sorry it took so long to get to this, Phinal does most of the typing in this story now and his time has been hectic so even though we collaborate together, he had to write in bits and pieces whenever he had the time. This will probably be his regular writing issue now…anyways we hope you enjoy this new chapter.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters.)

Titan groaned as he attempted to regain his bearings but there was one major problem…he couldn't see! "What's going on? Where am I?" he called out in a panic. He tried to reach for his eyes but his arms were apparently tied behind his back…and he was sitting on some kind of chair, his ankles tied together to it as well.

"Good, you're awake," Titan heard a distorted voice but had a hard time making out where it was. His heart rate and breathing increased in intensity as he attempted to break away from his bonds.

"I know you're a very strong and clever guy, it's one of the things I love about you," the voice continued, moving closer, "But I can't just let you leave, so I made sure to use wire instead of rope on your bindings. Now we have all the time in the world to get to know each other on a…personal level…" the distorted voice said sinisterly.

"Who…who are you?" Titan asked, trying in vain to keep the fear out of his voice.

"Let's have a game, I'll give you hints and you try to figure it out." Then Titan felt a weight sitting on his lap and cold lips pressed to his cheek, "We're going to have so much fun together, I promise."

XXX

Urara drove back to the Ozu house as quickly as possible. She spared glances at her sister who was just staring out the passenger side window, her hands clasped in desperate prayers muttered too softly to hear.

"Hou-nee, we're almost home," Urara said putting a hand on her shoulder, "We'll figure this out and we'll get him back safely, I promise," she said as she pulled to the curb. Urara got out first and then led Houka by the arm towards the house, "Come on, you've got to have courage! Remember that's where we get our strength from and you're going to need that strength to get Titan-kun back."

"I'll…I'll try…I haven't felt despair like this…since we fought himself…I feel like my heart has been torn from me," Houka replied.

"Well then we're just going to have to get it back," Urara said as she opened the door to find Nai, Mare, Tsubasa, and Makito on the couch in an intense discussion apparently.

"Everyone!" Urara called out to them interrupting, "Help me with Houka-chan!" The four of them immediately dropped what they were talking about and walked over to the Ozu sisters.

"Good Lord what's happened?" Tsubasa asked.

"Nai, Mare, get her on that couch, she's going to need to lie down for a minute," Urara replied taking charge. "Where is Kai-chan?" she asked as the vampires did as she requested.

"Upstairs doing homework I think," Makito replied, "What on earth happened?"

"Titan-kun was just abducted," Urara said sadly, her eyes on the ground

"Oh no, this is horrible!" Nai said.

"Who would do something so horrible to someone so sweet?" Mare added.

"We don't know, their voice was distorted," Urara replied.

"Did the kidnapper let you know what they wanted?" Tsubasa asked.

"Houka-chan, what did the kidnapper say?" Urara prompted.

"They…they got what they wanted. Titan-kun himself was their goal. They even said there was no ransom demand…they just wanted to take him away from me!" Houka cried out, burying her face in her hands to let out her sobs and tears.

"Whoever did this is going to pay!" Makito growled his fingers turning white from being clutched in a tight fist, "No one hurts our family like this."

"Don't do anything rash Aniki!" Houka begged, "They'll kill him if we try anything."

"But I bet they don't realize who they've really messed with," Tsubasa said, "We're the Magicians of the Five Colors. We aren't powerless in this situation."

"And you've got us," Nai said.

"Yes, Titan-kun is like our little brother. We've got to protect him," Mare added.

"Where's Tou-san and Kaa-san?" Urara asked.

"They're on a date." The others turned around to see Kai coming downstairs, "I heard about half of the commotion. So let me get this straight, Titan-kun's been abducted?" When he saw everyone nod, he looked at them, "Then why are we just standing around here? If we can defeat Infershia, then we can certainly rescue someone so precious to us all! Let's use all of our talents and resources to get him back."

"Do you think we can?" Houka asked, her eyes red and puffy, "I mean use our magic for a non-magic-related problem?"

"It's to protect our family," Kai replied, "And if Magiel or any of the Heavenly Saints have a problem with that, they'll have to take it up with me!"

XXX

"So I already know a lot about you, Titan-kun," the mysterious distorted voice began, "You started off so lonely here…my heart went out to you," he felt a feminine hand stroke his cheek gently, but all it did was frighten the young man further, "I would've gladly taken your loneliness away, but then I found out you were already taken…by an older woman…your distant cousin no less! How disgusting!" the voice shouted, "Don't you want to know what I could have offered you?"

"Please…please let me go…" Titan begged, "You're scaring me."

"Wrong answer…guess I'll just have to show you!" the fingers that were caressing his cheek suddenly scratched it, hard causing him to gasp in pain, leaving his mouth open for the stranger to force a kiss on him, pulling his hair back as well as she deepened it against his will. Titan tried to struggle in vain but in response the unknown assailant simply pulled harder against his white hair before pulling away, "Now wasn't that nice?"

Titan sobbed, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I love you and want to make you mine like you should have been from the beginning. Everyone knows Houka is wrong for you. She's too old for you, she's a relative, and she already betrayed you once. Everyone saw your fight at that dance. Why didn't you turn to me instead of forgiving that heartless perverted woman!"

"Because…because she deserved a second chance…and you're the one who's heartless and perverted!" Titan replied in disgust.

"Oh I haven't been perverted…yet," although he couldn't see at the moment, he could almost sense the evil grin that dominated his assailant's face at that moment.

XXX

"Well, anything Ura-nee?" Houka asked, pacing the area behind her younger sister as she, in full robes, gazed into her crystal ball.

"Please try to calm your pacing down. We're all worried for him, but I need to concentrate," Urara replied, closing her eyes. Tsubasa walked over to Houka and held her still by gently putting his arm around her. "Okay I think I'm getting something…I can't see anything! I'm trying to see from Titan-kun's perspective, but he must be blindfolded or something. He's scared for his life, he's already been hurt and…" Urara retched in horror as she also felt the kiss Titan's assailant forced on him.

"What?" Houka looked at her younger sister in horror.

"She kissed him, and it wasn't pleasant despite what she just said," Urara replied.

"You heard her voice, could you recognize her?" Houka asked.

"I'm sorry, the voice was distorted," Urara shook her head sadly, "From what she said, I don't know have much time before she does something…very horrible to him."

"Can you get their location?" Tsubasa asked.

"I'm sorry, but without knowing more about Titan-kun's kidnapper, I can't locate her and since he is blindfolded and too scared to focus, I can't get a fix on him either…we'll just have to search the old fashioned way," Urara replied sadly.

"No…Titan-kun…please…" Houka felt one sharp pain after another as Urara delivered each part of the terrible news.

"This doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying," Urara looked at her sister with an intense gaze, "I won't give up until he's back in your arms. I promise," she said before turning back to her crystal ball.

"Let's let Ura-nee concentrate," Tsubasa said softly, "Kai called Yuka-chan to call all their classmates to see if they could help. Nai, and Mare are searching the shadier parts of town with groups of Zobil ready to appear to back them up if need be. Makito called Hikaru-sensei and they are doing an air search. I called Tou-chan and Kaa-chan to check out where Titan was seen last. So let's go into the living room and wait for good news, okay?"

"We need to go out there too. I can't just sit around Tsu-nii," Houka said.

"You're hurting and scared right now, it might be too dangerous for you…" Tsubasa began.

"Tsu-nii, he's my responsibility. I'm the one who insisted we take him in from the beginning, and besides that, I love him with all my heart. I just can't stand by while he's in danger. It's dangerous and I'm frightened I won't deny that, but I'm going to help rescue him. Are you coming with me?" Houka replied.

Tsubasa sighed, "There's no way I'd let you do this alone, besides he's my friend too. Let's go find him."

XXX

"Don't tell me you haven't figured it out yet?" Titan's kidnapper said, circling around his bound and blindfolded body, "We've known each other quite a while…I've even been to your soccer matches and I must say, you're the best...and it shows." Titan felt her grab his arms from behind, "It's made you so built it's hard to resist," she then moved her hands to his chest, raking her fingernails across it, "Yes you really are built. I hope you haven't let Houka-chan have this before I could, because I'd be very very upset!"

"What…what do you think we did? We've both been very good because we love each other…" Titan was too panicked to come up with anything other than the truth.

"I bet you're the old fashioned-type to wait for marriage…well then you'll just have to marry me…or to make sure no one else gets to you before I do, maybe I should…skip that step and have my fun now!" Titan cried in pain as he felt his attacker biting him on the neck and sucking on it hard.

"You're so good to me Titan-kun…" she said as she pulled away. Titan could hear the sound of her licking her lips.

"Please…please stop…I don't like this….this isn't love. I know what love is, Houka-chan is the one who showed me…she's the only one for me," he pleaded.

"Of course it is! It's my love to you and it's stronger than that perverted cousin of yours, you just don't know it. She's corrupted you!"

"I'm sorry…I can't give you what you want…just let me go…" Titan sobbed.

"'Let me go.' Is that all you can say? I won't even think about releasing you until you hear the three words I _really_ want to hear. Tell me you love me," the kidnapper demanded.

"No…I can't…I won't…it'd be a lie…it'd be a betrayal to myself and to Houka-chan."

"Oh you'll say it alright. Give it time, you'll fall for me I guarantee it!"

XXX

Isamu and Miyuki looked around the mall, retracing their adopted "son"'s last known location. They followed from the smoothie shop, to the gift shop where he bought Houka the card he wanted, then figured out the best way to return home from there was where he headed for next. Surely enough they found a small bag discarded by the sidewalk which had the card in it, and it was torn to pieces.

"Whoever did this took the time to rip this card apart, that could be their fatal mistake," Isamu said, gathering the pieces.

"Poor Titan-kun…he's still so innocent. Why did this have to happen?" Miyuki said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that everyone's working hard to get him back and no one's giving up. Let's get this back to our home. Maybe it will help Urara with her divination," Isamu said calmly, though inside he felt a storm raging in his heart.

XXX

"Any luck?" Makito called into his MagiPhone from his SkyHoki.

"No, not yet," Hikaru replied into his GripPhone from the top of Skarpet on the other side of town, "At this point he could be anywhere."

"I know, but that doesn't mean we should give up," Makito replied.

XXX

Just as Tsubasa and Houka were about to leave, their parents returned and they almost ran into each other literally.

"Tou-san, Kaa-san, sorry!" Tsubasa said.

"Excuse us we're on our way to join the search," Houka added.

"Come with us, we have something that Urara can use," Isamu informed them.

"Well then let's hurry! We have to find him!" Houka insisted. The four of them returned to the magic room where Urara was still trying to divine where Titan was being held.

"Any luck?" Miyuki asked her youngest daughter.

"No…I'm still getting more of the same. Titan-kun's hurt and frightened out of his mind," Urara said desperately.

"We have something that may help. His abductor most likely touched this," Isamu said, producing the crumpled card that Titan bought for Houka.

"Thanks, let's see," Urara said taking it and holding it with one hand and her crystal ball with the other, "Yes…I'm getting a clear picture…oh my God I can see from the abductor's view now."

"What's she doing to him!" Houka asked.

"She's got a knife…she's going to cut his shirt open."

"No…Titan-kun…" Houka's heart started to rip.

"Can you tell us who it is?" Miyuki said trying to stay calm.

"They haven't identified themselves yet…" Urara replied, "I can't stand this…it feels like I'm the one doing these things to him…" tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Please, just hold on until we find out who it is," Isamu put a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "We know it's not you and you shouldn't feel responsible."

"I'll…I'll try," Urara replied with a sigh.

XXX

Kai and Yuka went through the list of their classmates, calling each of them asking if they've seen their lost friend, but so far no luck.

"This is so frustrating!" Kai shouted.

"I know, but this is what we can do to help find him," Yuka said putting a hand on his shoulder, "We only have a few more names to go through it won't take long, then we can search actively."

"You're right Yuka-chan, thank you," Kai replied. After a few more minutes there was only one number left.

XXX

Titan felt a cold chill when his abductor parted the division down the middle of his shirt. Thankfully his skin wasn't touched by the cold blade, but that didn't make him feel any easier.

"Wow you look so great," she said.

"No…please don't," Titan begged as she placed her hands on his built chest.

"Oh but I've always wanted to do this with you," she replied, "Houka-chan didn't know what she had, that's why she hurt you, but I'll never do it."

"You're hurting me now," Titan protested. Before she could proceed further a cell phone went off several times, but it was ignored until the ringing stopped.

"Now where were we?" Titan could almost hear the evil grin running across her face.

XXX

Urara started to sob as she realized what the abductor had planned, then she heard the sound of her cell phone go off, but she wasn't about to break her concentration, "I have to go deeper…oh my God…" In her mind's eye Urara saw the presence of something very…wrong within Titan's abductor…almost as if they're possessed…what she saw frightened her, a dark figure with bright green eyes. Houka's MagiPhone also went off a few seconds later, but it was ignored by Urara, though the others in the room turned their attention to Houka.

"Hello," Houka said softly, trying to wipe her own tears.

"Hou-nee, it's Kai. Listen we went through all of our classmates and there's one unaccounted for. No one has seen him and I believe all the ones I called at least."

"Who's the one you couldn't find?" Houka asked.

"It's…"

"ENVY!" Urara interrupted with a scream then fell backwards, falling off her chair, tears running down her face. Her parents were at her side in an instant helping their daughter to her feet.

"Envy?" Miyuki asked.

"The abductor…it's not their fault…they're possessed by a terrible evil…" Urara replied, "Envy is the best way to describe this force..."

"This isn't good," Isamu said thoughtfully, "We need to know who it is that is holding Titan-kun."

XXX

"Have you figured out who I am yet, Titan-kun?" his abductor said, "Did I give you enough clues…you should know who I am by now," She nipped at his ear hard, causing him to wince in pain.

"No one I know would do this to me!" Titan replied, "And no one I would want to know either."

His abductor sighed, "I guess the time for guessing is over," she said, "Get ready to meet your new lover," Titan closed his eyes as he felt the blindfold removed, "Open your eyes sweetie," Titan felt her fingers pressing hard on his face trying to force his eyes open. He finally relented and he stared into the face of someone he trusted completely and his heart and stomach both wretched at the sight.

"Why…Hoshi-chan…why?" he said. Just when he thought he couldn't shed another tear, more came out at this betrayal. Though his vision was blurry he could've sworn he saw her eyes glow green.

"Because I've always loved you, and we'll be together forever now."

(A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. We hope you enjoyed it. This was the hardest one to write yet. Phinal's never written anything like this before and he feels slightly guilty putting our favorite characters through this kind of hardship, but things will get better soon when the others find out where Titan is and comes to his rescue. Hope you look forward to it. Reviews are always welcome.)


	17. Chapter 17

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 17**

(A/N: Boy it's been too long since we updated. Real life REALLY got in the way this time, making it difficult once again to find time to collaborate, plus the muses hide sometimes. Anyways, hope you enjoy this one.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters. We just own our OC's Hoshi and Envy)

"It's Hoshi-chan!" Urara said simultaneously in the room as Kai said it over his phone to Houka.

"Hoshi-chan? Your friend from school?" Tsubasa asked in shock. Houka couldn't believe what she just heard.

"But…she's not cruel like that. We've met her…" she began.

"It's not her fault, she's possessed like I said," Urara replied calmly, "But that doesn't mean the danger isn't real. You've got to go find them," she said.

"You're…you're right," Houka replied and started to get up.

"I don't think so," Isamu said holding his hand up.

"Tou-san?" Houka pleaded.

"I know how much you love him, but you're in no shape to help out now. You're barely coherent as it is. I don't think you'd be much help in this state and I think you'll be worse off if you do go…I'm sorry, but I promise we'll bring him back," Isamu replied, embracing his eldest daughter.

Miyuki was obviously sad for Houka, but she also agreed with her husband's reasoning, "Tsubasa, Urara, let's go," she said softly.

"I…I can't go either," Urara replied.

"Why not," Isamu asked.

"I didn't want you to find out like this but…I'm pregnant. I have been for some time but wanted to surprise you later. I felt this monster and I can't risk going into a battle against it, not when my future child will be at risk," Urara replied.

"Oh my God Urara," Isamu's eyes widened, "Does Hikaru know?"

"Of course he knows," Urara allowed a small smile to form, "I'm sorry we didn't say anything sooner, but like I said, we wanted to surprise you."

"It's okay," Miyuki replied, "There was no way you could've seen something this bad happening. We can celebrate later, after Titan-kun is back."

"I'll stay with Hou-nee then," Urara said.

"Wow, Hikaru-sensei…" was all Tsubasa could get out before shaking his head to get his thoughts together, "It's just the three of us then. How will we find him?"

"I have a good idea, they're probably at the school somewhere," Urara said, "Since I know who the culprit is and also have seen Titan-kun's surroundings briefly, and it's a good start. I'll try to get a better idea to be sure, but that's where I'd start."

"That sounds good to me," Isamu replied, "Miyuki, Tsubasa, let's go."

"Should we call the others?" Tsubasa asked.

"Not until we're 100% sure of Titan-kun's location, we're just going on an assumption. One of the others may still end up finding him somewhere else," Miyuki pointed out.

"Please take care of Houka-chan, Urara-chan," Isamu said softly.

"I will," Urara promised.

"Please, bring him back," Houka added.

"He's family. We'll get him back," her father promised. Then he, his wife, and his second youngest son all departed from the house and headed towards the high school.

Isamu drove down the road as quickly as possible, letting the rest of the search parties know where they were headed, but told them to keep looking where they were at, just in case. Once they arrived, Isamu just parked at the first space available and he and his family rushed out of the car.

"Tsubasa, you check the east side of the school, Kaa-san and I will take the west," he instructed, "If you find him, signal the others and we'll do the same."

"Right, Tou-san," Tsubasa nodded and ran off towards his search area. His parents ran in the opposite direction. Just then his MagiPhone rang and it was Urara on the other end.

"Tou-san! Hurry! Wherever he is, it's a large open building. That should help," she said.

"Right!" Isamu replied, "We'll try the gym then, call Tsubasa and tell him to try the cafeteria."

"Yes Tou-san," Urara replied.

After a minute or two of running, the parents of the Ozu family came to the entrance of the gymnasium and tried the door, but it was locked.

"No…please don't…" they heard from inside followed by a chilling laugh.

"Like this will stop us," Miyuki said seriously and drew her MagiPhone in wand mode and cast an ice spell to freeze the lock off.

"Everyone! We found him! We're at the high school gym!" Ismau announced on his MagiPhone. Then he kicked the door open and they rushed inside to see Titan, tied to a chair, sobbing with scratch and bruise marks over his face and torso with Hoshi standing behind him, eyes glowing green, her lips and teeth on his neck and nails on his chest.

"Do you mind? I'd like some privacy!" Hoshi glared at the Ozu parents with green glowing eyes and her voice had a deep echo to it.

"Get away from him! Now!" Isamu bellowed.

"T…tou-san?" Titan looked up in disbelief, "Kaa-san?"

"We're here," Miyuki replied softly, but turned her gaze to Hoshi and it took on a quality that was worthy of an ice elemental, "You heard my husband. We won't say it again. Let. Him. Go."

"Pitiful human, you have no idea of whom you are dealing with," Hoshi replied.

"Run…" Titan said, "She's very powerful…even by our standards…"

"It's you that doesn't know who you're dealing with," Isamu countered, then he and his wife used their MagiPhones, crossing beams of fire and ice to make a powerful jet of water that fired at the possessed teen's face, forcing her away from Titan.

"Magicians?" Hoshi looked both surprised and annoyed.

"Your half right," Isamu said, pointing his MagiPhone at her, "One Magician…and one Heavenly Saint!"

Hoshi looked at Isamu, "That voice…now I remember you. You're Wolzard!"

"Was Wolzard, but…" just then, he and Miyuki did a quick henshin to Wolzard Fire and MagiMother, "I've always been Blagel."

Hoshi's eyes widened, "The Fire Elemental Heavenly Saint? I thought you were dead!"

"I will never die, not as long as I have my family," he smiled, from behind his helmet.

Hoshi smirked, "Pity, N-ma-sama should have taken your life when he had the chance, but I guess I will have to now."

Wolzard Fire humphed at her, "If you think you can. Tsubasa, now!"

Just then a bolt of yellow lighting hit Hoshi in the back and she fell to the ground, but the Infershian beast that was inside of her, came out, crying in pain.

"You bastard!" it yelled as it kneeled on the ground. The demon was clearly female despite being bald. She had glowing green eyes and had a red head and torso, green arms and shoulders, and black legs and thighs and reptilian skin.

Tsubasa, already henshined as MagiYellow, went to free Titan, "This is going to be hard, but we need you to get yourself and Hoshi out of here," he said, then turned to the beast that possessed Hoshi, "Watch your mouth you bitch," Tsubasa called to her

She turned to The Magician of the Yellow, "Calling the kettle black? I ought to kill you," just then a whip-like weapon came from her hand and hand and started towards Tsubasa, but was shot at.

There, behind the beast and MagiYellow, stood Mare, dressed in her old favorite outfit and her chain gun at her hip, "Envy! Hurt my Tsubasa-koi, and I'll kill you!" she said, glaring at the beast.

Envy looked at the young vampire, "Mare?"

"Yes," she then cocked her gun again.

Envy laughed, "So you went and fell in love, just like the so called Infershian 'God' 'Titan-kun'?" she mocked.

"Yeah, so?" Mare said with anger.

"That is a show of weakness," Hoshi laughed.

"Then I must be weak too," Nai said from behind, her crossbow pointed at the offending demon.

Envy turned around, "You too Nai? What have they done to you?"

"They, as you so rudely put it, didn't do anything. We fell in love because we wanted to."

"You are weak and pathetic!" Envy laughed, "Every last one of you!"

Nai shot at the beast, "No, I'm not."

Envy cried in pain again, "You bitch!"

Just then vines came up, out of the ground and wrapped around her, "Don't call my lover a bitch," said Makito intensely, already henshined as MagiGreen.

"How many of you colored freaks are there?" Envy demanded

At that moment, red fire balls came from above, and MagiRed came down off his SkyHoki through the skylight. "Counting our parents, 8, and we aren't freaks."

"Where are the rest of you?" the demon questioned. Several golden magic missiles circled around her before impacting.

"My wife and sister-in-law can't make it, so I'll be fighting for them as well," Hikaru said when the sparks cleared, "Not that it will take all of us to beat you," MagiShine added.

"Houka-chan's…not here?.." Titan gasped sadly, "And Urara-chan either."

"What are you still doing here, Tsubasa told you to go!" Wolzard Fire insisted.

"H..hai…tou-san…" Titan nodded weakly and took Hoshi's limp body and half picked, half dragged her up and out of the door.

"Tou-san, I'm worried," MagiRed said, moving carefully close to his father.

"I agree," Wolzard Fire replied.

"Why is that?" MagiGreen asked.

"We each attacked her and took her by surprise and all of our attacks hit," MagiShine explained, "So why doesn't she look injured…or even concerned for that matter?"

"Tell me, Nai, Mare," Envy began, ignoring the comments of the others, "Since you fell in love with those magicians over there, has it been possible for you to have the kind of relationship you _really_ want? Like the kind you've observed in your other friends? Or has your vampirism gotten in the way?"

"Shut up!" Nai said, firing her crossbow at the demon, whose eyes were getting brighter. Her hand became snake-like and she whipped the bolt away.

"Tsubasa loves me and Makito loves my sister! We don't doubt that for a second!" Mare added along with a burst of gunfire from her chain gun but Envy leaned back unnaturally far, dodging the bullets which almost hit MagiMother by accident but her husband jumped in front of her and his shield took the hits.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" Mare said.

"No one's hurt, but be careful," Wolzard Fire said.

"Don't try to put doubts in their minds!" MagiYellow shouted, changing his MagiStick into the Bowgun and blasting her with bolts of lightning and the demon crossed her arms and took the blow.

"That tingled a bit," she said, shaking her arms, "And I don't doubt your love for each other, on the contrary, I can see it…what I also see…is the hints of jealousy of the relationships of those around you. Titan and his precious Houka-chan, the old people standing over there," she pointed at Wolzard Fire and MagiMother, "And golden boy has a wife. If Red over there is also in love…why they all could have what you four can't…doesn't it make you…envious?"

"Go to hell," MagiGreen glared and turned his MagiStick into it's axe form but before he could move, the ground beneath MagiGreen, MagiYellow, Nai, and Mare cracked open and tendrils wrapped around each of them and green energy surged through them as Envy laughed.

"Everyone!" MagiMother called for her children, blood related and "adopted" and she led the others who were still free towards their helpless comrades, but strangely Envy released them on her own.

"Are you alright?" MagiShine asked Tsubasa, who then punched his former sensei hard in the chest.

"No I'm not. Why do you and Ura-nee get to have the happy ending? Where's mine?" he said with an echo to his voice, then fired his MagiStick Bowgun point blank, sending the solar elemental flying back, "First Rei, then Mare. I can never be close to the ones I love!"

"Aniki?" MagiRed looked at his older brother.

"Damn you Kai," MagiGreen swore, his voice turning darker then swung his axe across his youngest sibling's chest and followed through by a powerful kick, "I'm Aniki…I gave up everything for you, but I deserve my happiness too!"

The parents observed their children starting to attack each other.

"No…" MagiMother gasped.

"What do you think you're looking at?" Mare said with an evil echo, pointing her chain gun at her.

"Not you too Mare-chan. I love you like a daughter already, there's no need for these feelings."

"Says the woman whose husband was returned to her safe and sound…and now you're both acting like you're young all over again, except you can have what Tsu-koi and I can never have!" Mare's eyes were glowing green like Hoshi's once were. The Magician of the White quickly used her magic to put up a barrier of ice as the vampire fired at her. MagiMother came around her ice wall and sent a blast of cold air at her.

"I'm sorry Mare-chan, but this is for your own good," she said sadly.

"Nai-chan. Come to your senses. We're family now," Wolzard Fire said, but kept his shield up, which was good because the vampire fired off several shots from her crossbow.

"Hmph…'family'…I can never start one of my own, but that doesn't mean you can lord yours over me!" she replied deeply, her own eyes glowing dangerously green, then she came at the Heavenly Saint like a berserker.

"You're under Envy's influence…" he said dodging and blocking her blows and trying to not counterattack, "This may be some small doubt in your heart showing itself, but you know we care. I'll just have to remind you with tough love it looks like." At that moment he was using his large shield to hold her back, but she took the opportunity to draw his sword from it then swung it around, hitting him in the side.

XXX

"Oh no…" Urara gasped, seeing the events unfold through her crystal.

"Ura-nee…what is it," Houka said, standing close to her younger sister.

"Good news is they found Titan-kun alive, but he's pretty injured…and no telling how hurt he is emotionally."

"Oh God, please let him come back to me safe," Houka prayed.

"That's not the worst of it," Urara said, "The demon responsible for this, Envy, has turned Aniki, Tsu-nii, and Nai and Mare against the others."

"That does it, I'm going," Houka said.

"But Tou-san said…"

"I don't care what Tou-san said!" Houka raised her voice, "That monster hurt the most precious people to me. My boyfriend, and now my family. I know everyone's worried about how I'd react to seeing Titan-kun so hurt and broken, so am I to be honest, but I don't want the same thing to happen to my other family members. I just have to hope I'm strong enough is all."

"I can't stop you Hou-nee," Urara said, "I just wish I could go with you."

"You have to protect your chibi," Houka said, giving Urara a kiss on the cheek, "So you don't have to do anything but keep an eye on us. Now I got to go before it's too late."

"Wait!" Mandora Boy went to Tsubasa's shelf and after scanning the bottles, picked one and handed it to Houka, "This may help. Now hurry and save our family."

"Thank you," Houka said. She quickly grabbed her broom which turned into her SkyHoki and she flew off towards one of the greatest threats she could ever face.

(A/N: Well we hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave us reviews to let us know what you thought. Next chapter Houka joins in the action to rescue her love and save her family from the evil demon. How will she fare when half of her family has been turned against each other?)


	18. Chapter 18

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 18**

(A/N: Well we tried hard and guess what…we pulled out two updates in the same week! We've pretty much brainstormed the rest of this fic out and we'll try to get it completed in a timely manner. Hopefully we can be speedy with the rest of it. We hope you enjoy.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters. We just own our OC's Hoshi and Envy.)

Houka henshined into MagiPink in midair and headed towards the school. Moments later from high in the sky she saw Titan walking desperately away from the gymnasium while carrying Hoshi's unconscious body piggyback, though he was still weak from his ordeal and was moving a lot slower than he normally would've been. Houka lowered her broom-like vehicle to the ground and jumped off, rushing towards him.

"Titan-kun!" she called out as she approached him.

"Houka-chan!" Titan replied, gently laying Hoshi down on the grass and breathing hard while trying to run towards his girlfriend. She was much faster so he didn't have to run far before he was taken by her strong embrace.

"I thought…I thought you wouldn't come," Titan sobbed as Houka stroked his hair gently and tried to make comforting shushing noises as his body shook in her arms.

"Tou-san didn't want me to come, but I couldn't just wait at home for you to come back Titan-kun. I love you!" she said, holding him tighter. When she pulled away she saw the bruises and scratches on his body, "My God what did she do to you?" she said almost starting to cry again.

"It's….it's not Hoshi-chan's fault," Titan said calming down a bit, "It's Envy…"

"Right, Right," Houka replied, glad for the reminder before she thought about doing something she would regret later.

"I'm trying to get away, but I feel so weak," Titan sobbed slightly, "Everyone's still fighting in there. Envy is a Lost Infershian…very powerful. The others may not make it."

"I know. That's why I'm here. To stop this demon from hurting anyone else I love!" MagiPink declared boldly. Then she whistled and her SkyHoki came towards them, "Do you think you can ride this safely back to our home and bring Hoshi-chan with you?"

"I'll try," Titan nodded. With Houka's help, Titan was able to mount the broom-like vehicle safely and she put Hoshi's limp body on behind Titan who held on to her two hands with just his one as best he could. Houka removed her helmet long enough to give Titan a small kiss, wishing she had the time to make it last longer when she saw the need for comfort in her boyfriend's eyes.

"Now take them home," Houka instructed her vehicle after putting her helmet back on, "I've got a monster to deal with!" The SkyHoki made a sound almost as if it understood her and flew up and away but not too high or too fast for its passengers' safety.

When she was convinced that they were safely on their way, MagiPink turned her attention to the gymnasium whose door was busted open. The sight that awaited her was horrible. Her family members were fighting among each other…MagiGreen, MagiYellow, and their lovers were going crazy against the rest of the family and it was all they could do to defend themselves without really hurting their loved ones. MagiShine and MagiYellow were the closest ones to MagiPink. Hikaru was firing bursts of light from his MagiLamp Buster but Tsubasa was deflecting them with his MagiPunch back towards his former sensei. Not wasting another second, Houka took her MagiStick and bopped her brother over the head, who then turned around and was about to punch her when she used the bottle she was given by Mandora Boy and sprayed him, making him cough as the potion took effect, "What the hell?"

She then bopped him in the head again, "Watch your mouth! Kaa-san taught you better than that."

Clutching his head for a moment, he looked at her and Hikaru, "Sensei? Hou-nee? What the he…heck happened?"

Houka smiled from behind her helmet, "Good, it worked."

Hikaru smiled as well, "You've been throwing some serious punches. You owe me. Come on, we have to help the others."

MagiYellow nodded and went over to where Mare and MagiMother were battling.

"I'm sorry Mare-chan but hopefully this will hold you until we can fix this," Miyuki said blasting the vampire with a powerful ice spell, encasing the little vampire.

"I have a cure!" Houka told her mother as she and Tsubasa approached them.

When Houka approached with the bottle, MagiMother unfroze Mare's head and she started yelling, "Let me go! Let me…" then Houka sprayed her and she blinked, then coughed, "What the? Nani? Tsu-koi, what happened? Why as I frozen?"

He looked at her, "Are you alright babe?"

"I'm cold! Of course I'm not alright! I have ice up my skirt! Get me out of here!"

Tsubasa tried to not laugh as Miyuki freed her completely, "Sorry about that, but you were attacked by Envy, then you attacked me and the only way I could restrain you is the freeze spell," MagiMother explained.

"I don't like ice on my butt," she pouted.

Tsubasa removed his helmet and kissed Mare quickly, "I know," then he replaced his helmet, "Help us with your sister," he said taking the potion from MagiPink and handing it to his girlfriend

She smiled and nodded, she then used her little wings on her head and flew over and above her sister, who was trying to beat WolzardFire with his own sword, forcing him in a crouching position using his shield to protect him from her violent blows. Then Mare stood in mid air over her and sprayed Nai with the potion, causing her to sneeze.

"ACHOO!" she said as she wiped her nose and backing off, "What was that?"

Mare got down and shrugged, "Don't know, but it seemed to work. You aren't fighting Isamu-san anymore."

Nai looked at WolzardFire and blushed, "Sorry," she said, handing the Heavenly Saint his sword back.

He nodded, "Don't worry about it. Help take care of the others. Kai is barely holding his own."

Kai was yelling at his older brother, "Please stop," he begged as MagiGreen swung his axe at his younger brother. MagiRed blocked with his sword, but was immediately disarmed by the blow and his older brother sent him flying with a backswing of the MagiStick Axe.

"I'll never stop…" but he was unable to finish his thought as Hikaru surprised him by hitting him in the back with the flat side of sword, knocking him to his knees, coughing. Mare then came over and sprayed him.

After a moment, Makito coughed, "Why does it smell like roses?" he wondered.

Tsubasa smiled under his helmet, "This potion is basically highly concentrated rose scent. To make one 'smell the roses' to see what they've done and help them snap out of whatever's blinding their normal sense."

Makito looked at his brother, annoyed. Even though Tsubasa couldn't see it he could sense it, "Really? That's kind of lame," MagiGreen commented.

Tsubasa shrugged, "I thought it was pretty clever," he said helping Makito to his feet.

Meanwhile Isamu found his way towards his eldest daughter, "Houka! I thought I told you not to come after us!" WolzardFire shouted at his daughter, sparing her a glance.

"But Tou-san…" Houka protested

"But!" Isamu interrupted, "but I'm glad you came anyways."

"So are we," Makito, Tsubasa, Nai, and Mare said.

Just then the rest of the family came over, most of them tired from fighting each other, but still ready to stop the demon responsible for this terrible series of events.

"Alright everyone," Isamu ordered, "Let's get rid of this beast once and for all!"

Envy came out where she was hiding and enjoying the show, jumping to the top of the bleachers, "Well, that was amusing. I see another one of you colored freaks decided to join the party, though from what you said earlier, I assume one more is out there."

"Unfortunately she won't be able to join us," MagiShine announced, "And no, I won't say why in front of a beast like you!"

Kai yelled, "And like I told you before, we aren't freaks! Let's tell her who we are!" he said starting the roll call "The Burning Flame Element! _Aka no Mahoutsukai!_ MagiRed!"

"The Galloping Thunder Element! _Ki no Mahoutsukai!_ MagiYellow!"

"The Roaring Earth Element! _Midori no Mahoutsukai! _MagiGreen!"

"The Blowing Wind Element! _Momo no Mahoutsukai!_ MagiPink!"

"The Sparkling Ice Element! _Shiro no Mahoutsukai! _MagiMother!"

"The Shining Solar Element! _Tenkuu Yuusha! _MagiShine!"

"The Ferocious, Raging Fire Element! _Tenkuu Yuusha! _WolzardFire!"

"Our overflowing courage turns into magic! Mahou Sentai! Magiranger!"

Envy laughed, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I don't care. All I know is I am going to rid of you all once and for all!" She then ran towards them.

Everyone stood up and in a line, the boys and their mother transformed their MagiSticks back into their weapons, WolzardFire and MagiShine drew their swords, Nai and Mare broke out their weapons, and Houka set the MagiTrapeze bar up on the ceiling and jumped up on it.

"Everyone, get ready!" said Isamu.

Houka twisted her body down and hung by her knees and held her arms down, "Kaa-san!"

Miyuki took a hold of her and they began to swing together, then both let go and went flying towards Envy calling out, **"MOTHER/DAUGHTER DYNAMIC!" **and struck the beast with powerful auras of ice and wind, sending her towards WolzardFire, MagiRed, and MagiShine who all had their swords charged with powerful magic.

"**SHINING FIRE SLASH!" **they shouted as they cut into her from either side and above. Envy shouted in pain as she felt the deep gashes in her torso and her arms also hung limp at her side, now useless to her.

"Damn you!" Envy glared at them, "You will die for this!"

"Now!" MagiGreen called out. As Isamu, Kai, and Hikaru backed away, Envy saw MagiGreen, MagiYellow, and Nai and Mare pointing their weapons at her.

"**GREEN GROUND!" **

"**YELLOW THUNDER!" **As Makito slammed into the ground with his axe, a shockwave traveled through it towards the demon, hitting her simultaneously as Tsubasa's powerful lightning bolt and the bullets and arrows from their girlfriends' weapons, the combined effect sending Envy's body through the other entrance to the gymnasium making her land in the center of the soccer field, the MagiRangers and their allies rushed outside after her.

"Do you think this is over? DO YOU!" Envy raged at them.

"Yes it is," MagiPink declared, pointing her MagiStick at the offending monster, "We won't allow you to taint another precious friend or family member with your evil."

"There's more than one way to win the battle," Envy said darkly as her body began to vibrate, "I've may have reached my limits, but I can exceed them! Now you will know true fear!" The cuts and injuries on her body actually seemed to get larger and she pointed her head towards the sky and roared. Her mouth opened unnaturally wide and the heroes swore they could hear bone breaking as she did this and what looked like another copy of her head peered out from her mouth, grinning malevolently

"What is she doing?" Kai recoiled in disgust.

"She's like a reptile, they shed their skin," Tsubasa observed, "We can't let her finish! She'll probably be much stronger when she does!"

"Right! Chou Mahou Henshin!" Houka ordered.

"**MAAGI MAGI MAGI MAGIRO!" **Each of the MagiRangers quickly transformed into their Legend Forms, holding out their hands to accept their DialRods. As they did, Envy was halfway out of her skin and they could see new features on the powerful demon and she was laughing malevolently.

"Quickly everyone!" Isamu called to his wife and children. He thrust his shield in front of him and Miyuki and their children crossed their weapons with it, channeling the power of their magic into one powerful burst.

"**FAMILY LEGEND FINISH!" **they called out, sending a sphere of their combined elemental powers towards Envy who was about to finish her transformation, but screamed as the powerful explosion engulfed her.

"Everyone, you did it!" Nai cheered.

"Now this nightmare is finally over," Mare sighed in relief. However everyone heard a deep laughter.

"No it can't be!" Houka gasped.

"That attack was enough to kill an Infershian God!" Miyuki protested. Then the earth shook all around them before focusing on an area right in front of them where a much, much larger version of Envy burst out of the ground laughing. Not only was she gigantic, but now from her shoulders sprouted three arms each that were more like snake tails, her back had bat-like wings protruding from it and the lower half of her body was all snake.

"The best part about shedding my skin, I can discard my old form and use it as a shield. Now that you've revealed your full power, despair for I am beyond any of you!"

(A/N: We know standard Sentai formula means fighting the giant monster, but without Urara there to back them up, something creative and miraculous will be needed to stop Envy once and for all. We hope you look forward to it. Reviews are always welcome and we hope you look forward to the next chapter.)


	19. Chapter 19

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 19**

(A/N: Hello everyone! Not much to say this time except we're proud to present our newest chapter. We hope it's to everyone's liking.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters. We just own our OC's Hoshi and Envy.)

Yamizaki Yuka was sitting at the edge of her bed, deeply worried for Kai, Titan, and their other family and friends. She hadn't moved from that spot since Kai left to go help and was shocked when she overheard who the culprit was in Titan's kidnapping. Hoshi…one of their classmates…one of their closest friends… She had to ask when this was over how this could've happened, but for now she would just wait for Kai's return. While she was sitting and staring at nothing, she felt a short earthquake that knocked her out of her bed, _"I hope that isn't related to Kai-tachi," _she thought as she walked to her window and saw a glimpse of the beast in the distance. Horrified, she immediately turned around and knelt next to her bed, _"Kami-sama…please protect Kai-tachi. Help them overcome whatever evil their facing, and bring them all back home safely. I love Kai-chan with all my heart and his family feel like my family. So please grant them your protection."_

**XXX**

Urara watched the entire battle from her crystal ball. She too was at the edge of her seat, wishing she could go help her family. However once Houka arrived things seemed to be under control until Envy transformed into a more powerful demon. She rubbed her belly softly and looked into the crystal, "I've never felt more conflicted in my life," she thought out loud, "They need my help but do I want to risk the child Hikaru and I created?"

"Urara-chin," Mandora boy floated over to her and put one of his long leaves on her shoulder in an attempt of comfort, "You've always known the right thing to do. When Kaa-chan was away, you were the guide everyone followed. Ask yourself what she would do in your place."

"Thank you," Urara replied, wiping her face a bit, "I can't just let them die. I need to go to them now. I'll just have to hope that the baby will be safe…" However as she stood up to leave the fireplace flared up and two old friends emerged. Lunagel and Snowgel

"Don't worry Urara. You don't need to leave," Snowgel smiled, floating towards her.

"Snowgel? Rin-chan?" Urara looked surprised to see two of the most powerful Saints standing in their home, referring to the Lunar Elemental by the nickname Kai and the others gave her, "It's good to see you again. Are you going to help them instead?"

"No we won't be needed in this battle. We just came to deliver a message from Arch Saint Magiel-sama. 'Have faith in your family. That too is courage.' And from all of the Heavenly Saints we wanted to congratulate you and Sungel. Your child will be a precious gift to the world, so please don't take any risks," Lunagel replied smiling.

"But without me they can't use MagiKing or MagiLegend!" Urara pointed out.

"They won't be needed either. Magiel has something…special planned," Snowgel said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Really? So what am I supposed to do?" Urara asked.

"What Arch Saint Magiel-sama instructed. What you've been doing. We are supposed to sit and watch patiently, cheering them on and having faith that this will all work out," Snowgel replied.

"We'll stay with you if you wish," Lunagel offered.

"Thanks. I think I would like that," Urara replied. Then they all heard the sound of a SkyHoki entering the Magic Room. Urara and the two Heavenly Saints rushed over to see a barely functioning Titan and his unconscious passenger.

"Titan-kun!" Urara rushed over and with the help of Lunagel, gently got him off the broom.

"Oh Magi," Lunagel gasped, "I didn't know it was that bad."

"The others…Urara-chan…they need you…" Titan let out.

"So this you're the rumored Infershian god that was reincarnated as a human," Snowgel surmised, assuming her humanoid form to help Hoshi down, "I'm sorry to meet you under these circumstances, but don't worry, your friends will be okay. Urara has to remain where it is safe just as you and the young lady do…and try not to hate this one," she said placing Hoshi gently on the floor, "She's as much a victim of Envy's cruelty as you are."

"I don't think he heard you Snowgel," Lunagel replied sadly, gently laying Titan on the floor, "He lost consciousness as soon as we got him down."

"We need to make them more comfortable," Urara said pulling out her MagiPhone and conjuring a small pool of water around each of them to which they floated on top of and were resting...literal water beds.

"We'll tend to them as best we can," Lunagel said, "Don't worry about them for now, go focus on giving your courage to your family."

"All right," Urara nodded, turning to her crystal, Mandora Boy hovering above it, everyone looking at Urara as she told them everything that was happening.

XXX

Back at the school grounds, the gigantic demoness Envy was laughing maniacally as she looked down on the MagiRangers. She opened her mouth and roared, green fire streaming out towards the heroes. They were all scattered back several meters and looked up as each one of her six arms stretched out towards them.

"Watch out!" Kai called out. He and his siblings blasted them with their MagiBolt spells and Hikaru, Isamu, and Miyuki added their own magic to deflect the sixth one.

"Are you sure Ura-nee can't make it?" Makito said, trying to catch his breath as the monster recoiled from their defense.

"Positive," Hikaru replied.

"Then we'll just have to do the best we can with what we have!" Kai said, "Mahou Dai Henshin!"

"**MAAGI MAGI MAGIKA!"** Each of the Ozu siblings and their parents pointed their MagiPhones in the sky and the power of the Heavenly Saints transformed them into their Majin forms. The spell also transformed Isamu and Miyuki into giant versions of themselves.

MagiShine punched one of his MagiTickets, summoning the MagiTrain.

"**GOO GOO GOLDEERO!" **MagiShine leapt up into the engine of MagiTrain as it was transforming. Smoky was already shoveling coal right behind him.

"You're not the only one who can surpass their limits," MagiFairy declared, "No matter how hard you knock us down, we'll keep coming until we'll defeat you!"

"You're all fools if you think this makes any difference," Envy glared back, "I will tear each of you apart!"

"Everyone…attack!" Wolzard Fire pointed his sword at the offending demon initiating the charge. MagiPhoenix and MagiTaurus charged in first, Envy stretched out her arms in an attempt to entangle them. Kai used his sword and Makito his axe to deflect the attack so the demon changed to a strategy of whipping her six arms around rapidly to break their defense. She eventually disarmed both brothers and was reaching towards them

"Houka-chan, now!" MagiMother instructed.

"Right...**MAAGI GII MAGIIRO! **MagiRanger Ball!" Magi Fairy transformed into a huge sphere and MagiMother added her own ice spell to generate snow around her so Houka was essentially a snowball the size of a small mountain and rolled right towards her. Envy was about to do another green fire breath attack but was taken by surprise when MagiGaruda blasted her with lightning from above, making her attack miss, but Houka's connected, burying her head to toe. In a burst of pink sparkles, MagiFairy emerged safely and she and her brothers retreated so Travelion could get close.

"Destruction Fire!" Hikaru called out as the smokestack of Travelion opened and attempted to pull in the monster to burn her in its furnace. The pile of snow was starting to get sucked in first and they could see Envy's arms and tail emerge.

"Come on! Come on!" Hikaru said worrying that she was getting up way to fast.

"I'm shoveling as fast as I can Master!" Smoky insisted.

"Hikaru-sensei needs help!" MagiGaruda said, flying to the sky again and pelting the beast with thunder.

"I won't…go down…alone," Envy growled as she was getting closer to her doom. Her tail stretched high in the sky and grabbed MagiGaruda and tossed him towards Travelion.

"NO!" Hikaru said as his former student got caught in the wind tunnel heading towards him. He immediately shut down Travelion's attack, but Tsubasa still crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground as Envy fully freed herself and blasted them with green fire, forcing Tsubasa to dehenshin completely and Travelion to disassemble, kicking out its pilot and engineer, also dehenshined. Nai and Mare looked shocked and went to check on them.

"Oh no, they're unconscious!" Nai said.

"Tsubasa! Wake up please!" Mare cried.

"Master!" Smoky shook Hikaru's body to try to get a response from him

"Tsu-nii! Hikaru-sensei!" MagiTaurus called out, clutching his axe and then rushed towards Envy with a battle cry.

"No Makito wait for us!" Wolzard Fire and MagiPhoenix drew their swords and came to assist him. Envy sent a blast of green fire at the Magician of the Green, but he blocked it by holding his axe defensively as his younger brother and his father jumped up and bounced off his broad shoulders to jump even higher. Envy simultaneously used her long tail to trip Makito and stretched her many arms to try to ensnare the attackers from above. Wolzard Fire parried the attack with his large shield and countered with an upward slash to her arms and severed two of them causing the beast to howl in pain as Kai did his soccer flip to dodge then kick down the arms reaching out for him. The heroes landed safely by Makito and helped him to his feet.

"I thought you knew better than to rush in like that," Wolzard Fire chided.

"Sorry Tou-san," MagiTaurus replied.

"We can win this though, we know we can hurt her," MagiPhoenix said.

"Everyone look out!" MagiFairy called out. Just in time, the three of them dodged another fire blast coming from above as Envy took to the skies with her large wings.

"I'll be taking this now," she said, stretching her tail down and grabbed Makito's discarded axe.

"NO!" he dived towards it but it was too late, the weapon was now in the hands of their enemy who flew higher in the sky.

"Now that the bird brain is out of the picture, I have the higher ground!" Envy cackled then sent a blast of her green fire towards the Magirangers.

"It's not over yet!" MagiMother sent out her own blast of ice magic to hold the fire at bay. The two were evenly matched until Envy tossed Makito's axe towards her.

"Kaa-san!" Makito jumped and took the hit right on the back. He cried in pain, "Guess she's stronger than I thought, " he gasped before falling and dehenshining, but this was enough to distract MagiMother who got hit by Envy's attack, sending her flying to the ground.

"Miyuki!" Isamu called towards his wife.

"I'm okay, I can still fight," she replied standing up, "But how can we fight her now?"

"Guess it's up to me," MagiPhoenix said, **"****MAAGI GOLU MAGULU!" **A large magic circle descended around him, transforming him to the legendary MagiFirebird who screeched defiance at the monster that had been trashing his family.

"What the hell?" Envy looked shocked at Kai's transformation. Her moment of hesitation left her open as MagiFirebird buzzed by her, leaving scratches behind on her chest, "That hurt you…" but she didn't have a chance to finish as MagiFirebird hovered in the air above Envy, screeching flapping his wings sending powerful fireballs down towards her. She screamed as the flames overwhelmed her, sparks and smoke flying, but out from the smoke a stream of green fire shot out towards Kai, who quickly dodged out of the way as the smoke cleared, a furious Envy flew towards her new target, "How dare you!" She stretched out her arms, but MagiFirebird quickly dodged to the right so all she touched were the flames that made up his wings.

"You're a tricky one, but speed alone won't save you!" Envy then stretched out her arms to either side of MagiFirebird and when he tilted sideways to dodge between them, Envy sent a blast of her green fire breath at him, causing him to screech in pain and fall down, but he spun around and regained altitude, glaring at the demon and sending more fireballs towards her, she slithered in midair, dodging some, but several still made contact. "I better end this soon, you're actually becoming difficult." Envy then directed her gaze to the ground where Nai, Mare, and Smokey were tending to Makito, Tsubasa, and Hikaru respectively, "Let's see how you deal with this!" the evil beast sent out the most power fire blast yet towards the helpless MagiRangers and their allies. MagiFirebird's eyes widened and he attempted to outrace the blast but it didn't look like he would make it in time.

"Everyone! Get them out of here!" Wolzard Fire instructed, raising his shield as MagiMother and MagiFairy combined their magic to make a barrier of wind and ice as the giant green fireball connected. MagiFirebird looked down in worry at his family as the smoked cleared. Wolzard Fire and MagiFairy were on their knees looking exhausted but Miyuki was dehenshined and unconscious.

"Kaa-san…" MagiFairy looked at her fallen mother.

"This was too much after the previous attack," Wolzard Fire said sadly, "We cant' take much more either. Damn! I wish we could do more!"

"They survived? Oh well, one more down. It looks like taking you down one at a time is working though," Envy grinned. MagiFirebird shed a tear seeing his mother fall in battle then glared at Envy with renewed fury, letting out a large screech and charged towards the beast, spinning in midair to send fireball after fireball at her overwhelming her defenses until he collided with her, sending her down to the ground. From the air MagiFirebird pelted her with his fireball attack, hoping to destroy her for good, leaving a cloud of smoke and a fiery crater behind.

"Did that do it?" MagiFairy asked her father. They felt the earth shake around them again.

"No it didn't! Watch out Kai!" Wolzard Fire called to his son. Envy burst out from the ground just beneath MagiFirebird, who tried climbing back into the air but she managed to grab on to his tail, the largest part of his body not covered in flame and held on while she blasted him with her green fire. Sparks flew from MagiFirebird's body as he cried in pain, falling to the ground and dehenshining completely.

"Finally! He was the hardest one yet, but I managed to defeat him," Envy said, turning her attention to the two remaining MagiRangers, "Now I have a surprise for you…" she then roared once again as her burns and scratches healed and her lost limbs grew back. Breathing heavily she grinned evilly at them, "All that hard work for nothing…and the only ones left who can defy me can't even come up here to fight. This will be an easy victory after all."

(A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. Next chapter the battle against Envy will end with a few unexpected surprises. We didn't get to them this chapter like we initially thought because we forgot battle scenes actually take a while to write so we didn't want to cram too much into one chapter. We hope you enjoyed though. Please leave your reviews to let us know what you thought.)


	20. Chapter 20

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 20**

(A/N: Greetings everyone, we hope you enjoy this chapter. We know that a lot of anticipation came for this one and we hope to not disappoint. Thanks to Hallwings and CrystalBlueMontana for their continuous support.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters. We just own our OC's Hoshi and Envy.)

MagiFairy and WolzardFire looked up as Envy gloated at them. She stretched her tail down towards the remaining heroes but they managed to dodge her attack.

"We'll never give up Envy!" MagiFairy shouted up to her, "As long as we are still standing, we'll find a way to stop you!"

"What can you possibly do against me now? The most powerful among you has already fallen."

"It's not always the most powerful who wins," WolzardFire replied, "It's the most determined, the most courageous, the ones who have something worth fighting for. They can triumph over those with only mere power!" He jumped into the air as high as he could go.

"Tou-san!" MagiFairy called to her father and concentrated her wind magic to give him a height and speed burst as his sword ignited. Envy breathed green fire at the warrior but he blocked it with his shield and threw his fiery sword at her head. Shocked, she barely moved her head out of the way as her face got scratched.

"Damn, almost had her!" WolzardFire cursed. He looked down for his daughter but she was nowhere to be seen.

"My face…my face! How dare you!" Envy howled at WolzardFire, but she didn't notice that MagiFairy took to the air and issued a battle cry. A tornado appeared around her making her spin at a rapid rate as she rushed to the small wound her father gave the demon, delivering kick after kick at an unbelievable rate, sending her back several meters, "A sneak attack? You'll pay!" Envy stretched out all her arms at MagiFairy who was trying to dodge out of the way but managed to get hit by most of them, sending her back to the ground. "Now you die!" Envy glared at MagiFairy and WolzardFire and as she prepared another fire breath attack, she was hit in the side by several powerful fireballs.

"Was that Kai?" MagiFairy asked.

"No he's still out of it," WolzardFire replied, "Look!" he pointed in the distance where they saw a gigantic smoking cannon and then it's wielder.

"Sphinx-san?" MagiFairy looked in surprise, "You came to help!" The Infershian God had assumed her true size, one that can match up with the giant forms that the MagiRangers used.

"Thank you for your timely assistance," WolzardFire said, "But this enemy is one of the hardest we ever faced."

"Sorry I'm late. Nai and Mare's Zobil had trouble giving directions to where you were." She then glanced down where the zombie-like creatures were, "Help get the MagiRangers out of the battlefield," she instructed them. One by one, Nai, Mare, and Smoky were all being assisted in getting Makito, Tsubasa, Hikaru, Kai, and Miyuki to a safe distance.

"So another Infershian God is a traitor," Envy glared, turning her attention to Sphinx.

"I am now the rightful ruler of Infershia and as such, it is my responsibility to see that any remaining evil demons from the old ways are defeated," Sphinx replied calmly, firing her cannon several times at the monster.

"Even if you're one of the Infershian Gods, don't think I won't be able to defeat you," Envy challenged, dodging a few cannon blasts but getting hit by several, causing sparks to fly off her body. She countered with her green fire breath, but Sphinx dodged as well, returning fire. Envy then turned her fire breath to the ground near the Infershian God setting it on fire.

"Damn…I can't see where she's coming from," Sphinx muttered, "And I can't risk hitting the others in a counterattack!" WolzardFire and MagiFairy rushed to help as Envy descended to the ground, she whipped her tail in a circle catching WolzardFire off guard, but MagiFairy flew above the attack and punched Envy hard across the face.

"Amusing, but ineffective," she gloated, using three of her arms to constrict MagiFairy, "Now watch as I can even kill a goddess!" she sent a huge fire blast into the circle of flame that Sphinx was surrounded by and everyone heard her scream in pain.

"Stop it!" MagiFairy shouted, "I won't let you end us and our happiness!"

"No," Envy grinned evilly, "I'll never stop until you all die! Painfully. That is what I am. I am ENVY! The jealousy of others is what gives me my power! Human suffering is my strength and your suffering is even better! You believe you are above me? You have felt the pangs of me as have all of your precious family and friends! Your so-called 'peace' and 'happiness' was filled with moments of weakness in all of you. Your father lost the chance to raise his children, your brothers and the ones they love can't be together like they want. And the love you claim for Titan wasn't perfect either. And you didn't even notice the suffering of your other friend, which allowed me into her heart where I grew ever stronger. Now that I am at my strongest, I am unstoppable!" With that she began to constrict to try to crush MagiFairy but Envy felt intense pain as WolzardFire leapt up and sliced through her arms once again.

"Your words are poison!" he growled as his daughter was free. Envy howled and hit WolzardFire with her own fire blast in the back, sending him to the ground.

"Tou-san!" MagiFairy rushed to her father and stood between him and the demon and glared at her, "You won't win. Even if I'm the only one left…you won't win! We aren't perfect, but the moments we shared together are precious! You may have a point in that in loving another, whether as family, friends or lovers, isn't easy, but it takes true courage to continue to do so despite our moments of weakness. That is why you'll never win. Our love and courage will always give us the strength to stand and help each other no matter how much we're knocked down!"

"Pretty words, but just words. Prepare yourself!" Envy glared as her arms regenerated again. However a blinding light came from the heavens, "What's this?" she looked up in fear. The light shined down on everyone there, but then focused on MagiFairy and when she looked up, she saw the smiling face of Magiel.

"Houka-chan. You have shown incredible courage in these past few months. You've taken in a former enemy and not only showed him his humanity, but also taught him about true love, risking your own heart in doing so. This has been your hardest trial by far. As such, I grant you a new power! Use it to end this nightmarish creature that plagues the peace we've all sought for so long," she instructed.

"A new power?" MagiFairy put a hand over her heart, feeling it fill with warmth and new magic. As the image of Magiel disappeared, a rainbow came from the clouds and touched down near them. Everyone could hear the whinny and galloping of two horses coming towards them. WolzardFire stood up and stood by his daughter's side.

"I can still fight, Houka-chan. We can finish this together," he said.

"What's going on?" Envy looked towards the clouds as the horses came into clear view. One was white, the other black. Both of them jumped off the rainbow, becoming giant armored versions of themselves and sent several kicks at the demon sending it flying. They then turned towards MagiFairy and WolzardFire.

"Unigolon…Barikion…you're late!" WolzardFire chided playfully. Then Unigolon moved towards MagiFairy, nuzzling her.

"I understand." MagiFairy replied, "We'll show Envy our new power. Hurry Tou-san before she comes back!" With that she mounted the holy horse. As she grabbed its reigns, she grew to almost twice her size, making her just large enough to ride. Pink butterfly-like wings made of wind suddenly appeared on Unigolon's sides. In MagiFairy's right hand was a giant version of the MagiDialRod.

"Incredible," WolzardFire said, impressed with his daughter. Barikion nudged his master as well, "I'll be happy to fight together once again old friend," he said, "**GOOLU LUUMA GONGA!" **With that incantation, Barikion opened up and WolzardFire jumped inside, becoming their centaur-like fusion, "Mahou Gattai! WolKentarosFire!" As they fused together, bird-like wings of fire burst out of Barikion's sides, "Houka-chan. Let's take this battle to the skies!"

"Right Tou-san!" MagiFairy replied, nudging Unigolon to take flight. Together they started to ascend and saw Envy coming towards them.

"MagiBolt!" MagiFairy turned her MagiDialRod from the number 1 glowing pink. She pointed it at the demon and a powerful whirlwind sent it even higher in the air, "Let's go after her, Tou-san!" She tugged at Unigolon's reigns and soon they moved rapidly in the air towards where Envy was just reorienting herself.

"What…what is this power?" she said when she saw her opponents coming towards her.

"It's as my daughter told you. Our love and courage is what gives us power, and those are things someone like you can't ever understand or take away," WolKentarosFire replied.

"I may not understand it, but that doesn't mean I can't destroy it!" Envy lashed towards them with all of her arms but Unigolon and WolKentarosFire kicked their legs rapidly and blocked every one, sending them back so hard, Envy basically accidentally hit herself. While Envy was disoriented, the two heroes came at her from both above and below, hitting her in the side with their weapons and the wings of their horses also grazed her with burns and slashes.

"I will burn you to the bone!" Envy roared and sent her fire blast towards them.

"No you won't! MagiBolt!" MagiFairy cast her whirlwind spell again which held back the fire blast and sent it back towards Envy, then WolKentarosFire rushed at her, his lance charged with fire magic, slashing her hard in the side again.

"No matter what you do…I'll always recover," Envy panted.

"I've noticed it takes you a while to do that. All we have to do is enough damage to destroy you before you can do it again," WolKentarosFire declared.

"Unigolon, time to show what we can _really_ do," MagiFairy said encouragingly to her steed.

"Together Houka!" WolKentarosFire ordered.

"Right, Tou-san!"

"**GOOLU LUUMA GOLU GONGA!" **The power of that spell caused another transformation. WolzardFire's horse, Barikion transformed into a large set of armor for his master which he slipped into, his shield covering the front of his body, completing the transformation, "Mahou Gattai! WolKaizerFire!" This new form resembled WolKaizer, except it was red where WolKaizer was violet and fiery bird-like wings erupted out of its back.

"**JIRUMA JINGA MAAGI MAGI!" **MagiFairy jumped off of Unigolon which transformed into a suit of similar armor and she slipped inside, her giant MagiDialRod being wielding in the new form's left hand while its usual lance was in its right. "Mahou Gattai! FairyKaizer!" This new form resembled SaintKaizer, except it was pink where SaintKaizer was red, and had MagiFairy's head of MagiPhoenix's, along with an obviously female figure. Butterfly-like wings of wind blew out of its back. Both had powerful auras of fire and wind magic coming from them when they finished the transformation.

"No…I refuse to lose!" Envy flew off a distance, the new heroic Majin in pursuit. Envy breathed fire at FairyKaizer, but she flapped her wings rapidly, blowing it back towards Envy as WolKaizerFire spun his lance to generate his own fire attack. Envy was overwhelmed by the backlash of her own attack and didn't see the second one coming.

"**Mahou Fire Slash!"** WolKaizerFire performed a powerful downward slash to Envy's entire body, causing her to scream in pain and fall several feet, but FairyKaizer rushed down and used her MagiDialRod to create a whirlwind sending her back up.

"You'll never get near our family or any other innocents!" she declared as the twister dissipated. **"Mahou Wind Slash!"** FairyKaizer came at her enemy with a high pressure wind-powered slash to her body from her lance, damaging her further.

"This…this is nothing…I can recover…from this!" Envy growled, trying to heal her wounds but it was happening much slower than she expected, "They couldn't be…this powerful…" she grunted in pain.

"Hurry Tou-san!" FairyKaizer instructed.

"Right Houka-chan!" WolKaizerFire nodded. They both charged their weapons with wind and fire magic respectively, flew higher into the air, and then soared down rapidly, their lances thrust in front of them and their magic aura's strongest at the tips.

"**Father and Daughter Twin Lancer**!" they shouted as their attack made contact with Envy, impaling and running her through as they passed by. They turned around and saw the fire being fed by the wind while consuming Envy's body.

"I will never truly die!" she screamed in defiance of her fate, "Even if my physical manifestation is forever destroyed…I exist…in every human heart! You can't get rid of me…ever!" she laughed despite the intense pain.

"But your existence in the human heart is brief and small. We can triumph over that even without magic," FairyKaizer replied matter-of-factly, "Your only purpose is to be overcome, so be gone!" For good measure, she activated her MagiDialRod one last time to create a powerful vortex that drilled its way into Envy's burning body, causing it to explode and its remains to be scattered harmlessly throughout the sky, the beast's scream fading to nothing as it happened. The two Majin descended from the sky back to where their family and friends lay hurt.

"We did it Tou-san," FairyKaizer breathed a sigh of relief as she landed.

"You did it, Houka-chan, it was your new power that was the deciding factor in this battle," her father countered. They both de-heshined completely, and the horses assumed their own normal form.

"Thanks for your help Unigolon, Barikion," Houka smiled, petting each one of them.

"Though next time your timing could be better," Isamu added, but not angry as he pet them as well. Turning away from the noble steeds and towards his daughter he said, "We need to check on the others."

"Of course," Houka replied. They rushed first to where they last saw Sphinx. The fire that they thought consumed her died down to a small blaze and they saw her human-sized form, half standing, half kneeling, using her cannon as a crutch.

"Sphinx-san! Are you okay?" Houka asked rushing to her side.

"It's not as bad as it looks, I'll be fine momentarily," she said reassuringly, "I'm sorry, I wish I could have helped more, but unfortunately I can't fly like some people," she replied with a small chuckle, finally standing up and her weapon disappearing.

"You bought us the time we needed and made sure the others were out of the way. I'm grateful but sorry you got hurt for our sakes," Isamu said.

"No apologies are necessary. You're my friends and needed help. Anything else didn't matter," Sphinx smiled, "The others are fortunately a safe distance away thanks to the Zobil, but you should get them home to recover fully."

"You're coming too! You need to recover just as badly as everyone else," Houka insisted.

"Thank you…I think I'll take you up on your generous offer," Sphinx replied with her small smile. Using the spell for invisibility, Houka and Isamu were able to shield themselves and the others from bystanders' view as they returned to the Ozu Home. As soon as they arrived, the door opened and Urara immediately embraced her younger sister.

"Hou-nee," Urara sobbed, tears in her eyes, "Thank God you're back."

"It's okay," Houka replied, hugging Urara back, "Envy's gone now, Tou-san and I defeated her."

"I know…I saw the whole thing…but it's Titan-kun…he hasn't woken up since he got here!" Urara replied, and the calm that Houka felt from their victory suddenly plummeted back into panic.

(A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. We hope you enjoyed it. Reviews as always, are most welcome. The battle may be over but the effects of this trial are still lingering. Find out how they deal with it next chapter.)


	21. Chapter 21

**Mahou Sentai Magiranger**

**Courage and Innocence**

**By: MysticPhantasy**

**Chapter 21**

(A/N: Greetings everyone and welcome back. We're so sorry that it took this long to continue this fic, but we hope that it's still worth the wait. Thanks to our friends Hallwings and CrystalBlueMontana for their continued support.)

(Disclaimer: We don't own MagiRanger or its characters. We just own our OC's Hoshi and Envy.)

"Titan-kun's not waking up?" Houka asked in distress.

"He's been out of it ever since he came back," Urara said, tears starting to come to her eyes again, "We're taking care of him as best we can…" she didn't have a chance to finish as her older sister rushed past her to the magic room and saw her boyfriend suspended in a literal bed of water, Hoshi in a similar state next to him, the two visiting saints also at their side.

"Snowgel…Rin-chan…can you help them?" Houka asked.

"All the physical damage has been taken care of, the damage to their minds and hearts…that's something only time can heal," Snowgel revealed.

"I'll find a spell then," Houka said determinedly.

"You know that magic doesn't solve everything," Lunagel gently countered, "if we try to use a spell, it may actually make things worse. You'll just have to have faith they'll pull through…though what to do with the one who was possessed…that's the question."

"She'll have to have her memory erased. Tsubasa will know the proper potion," Snowgel replied, "Once he's well enough he should do it soon."

"You just said magic doesn't solve everything…do you want to do the same for Titan-kun?" Houka replied.

"Titan already knows about the magical world," Lunagel pointed out.

"And learning about it in the way that she did will be a traumatic experience for her, for anyone really," Snowgel replied, "You'll be showing her kindness by removing this experience from her."

"I'm not entirely sure if that's the right thing to do either…" Houka replied.

"Well, ultimately it will be your decision. However you plan to resolve it, we'll support you," Lunagel assured her.

"You did very well out there by the way," Snowgel smiled at Houka, "We're both proud of you, but as your family has returned safe and the threat is over, Lunagel and I must be going."

Houka nodded, "Thank you for all your help," she said, bowing.

"Good luck," Lunagel smiled at Houka as she and Snowgel departed through the fireplace in the Magic Room. Turning around, Houka noticed Urara, Nai, Mare, and Isamu carrying the rest of their injured.

"It looks like I've got my work cut out for me," Urara commented.

"Nonsense, let us help," Nai said.

"Yes we're here too, and so is your Tou-san," Mare pointed out

"Sorry," Urara looked down, "I guess I've been used to handling the nursing duties of the family alone."

"Actually, you've already done a lot," Isamu said, "All this worrying won't be good for the baby I'm sure. You can take a break while the three of us handle things."

"Arigatou, Tou-san," Urara smiled.

"You don't want my help?" Houka asked.

"I know you're extremely worried for Titan-kun," Isamu replied, "Just focus on taking care of him. I'm sure Nai, Mare, and I can treat everyone's wounds. They won't be out for long."

Houka nodded and went to Titan's side, holding his hand, stroking it gently "Titan-kun…it's Houka-chan," she said, "You're at home now, you're safe. You're with me now. The others are also here and they made it safe too. Envy is gone. Tou-san and I got rid of her. She'll never hurt you again…I won't let anyone hurt you like that again. That's a promise. I am so sorry I couldn't get there before things got out of hand…please forgive me." Unfortunately, Titan remained completely silent, "Please, still love me," she pleaded as Titan's still form continued to at least breathe softly. Houka decided to take a small chance and leaned over, pecking his lips softly and caressing his cheek, but still he didn't wake. She looked over at Urara, who was busy treating her mother, "Ura-nee…could you make this water bed a little bigger?"

"Sure," Urara smiled. With a wave of her MagiPhone the bed expanded and Houka climbed up on it, holding Titan's hand.

"I won't leave you till you wake up, but I'm a little sleepy myself."

"Then take a nap. We'll wake you if anything happens," Isamu promised. Houka nodded and let her drowsiness overcome her.

XXX

Houka was gently nudged awake with a soft voice calling to her, "Houka-chan, Houka-chan." She looked over at the gentle face of her mother.

"Kaa-san…glad to see you're okay," Houka smiled and got up and off the bed.

"Thanks to you, my dear," Miyuki replied. She looked over first at Hoshi, then at Titan, "It looks like neither of them are awake yet."

"How are the others?" Houka asked.

"They're sore, but awake. Everyone's eating dinner together, I thought I'd come and invite you as well before the boys eat it all up," Miyuki replied with a smile.

"Arigatou, Kaa-san, but I don't want to leave him."

"You've been through a lot today. I'm sure you're hungry," Miyuki replied, "I'll look after him for you."

"Kaa-san, I promised I wouldn't leave him," Houka insisted.

"Houka-chan, he'll understand. And as long as you stay in the house, you'll be keeping your promise to him. Now go and eat before you make yourself sick," her mother replied, still gently, but firmly.

Houka went into the dining room where the rest of her family and their friends were already eating. Everyone looked over at her.

"Hou-nee, glad to see you up and about," Tsubasa smiled at her.

"Tou-san told us what we missed. Great job at taking Envy down for good!" Kai grinned.

"You're the heroine of the hour," Makito said proudly.

"Thank you everyone, but I won't feel like I've won until he wakes up," Houka said looking down.

"Give it time," Urara said, "He's been through a lot; and such a gentle and innocent soul going through that…"

"I know!" Houka shouted, but then looked down, "I'm sorry everyone…didn't mean to shout."

"It's okay," Isamu said, "Why don't you sit and eat with us."

"Yes. We saved you some," Nai said.

"We love our guys, but they can eat," Mare chuckled.

"And a Heavenly Saint should know better than to give into gluttony," Urara joked, causing Hikaru to blush. Houka let out a small smile at the banter and allowed herself to eat.

"Everyone!" Miyuki rushed into the room, "Titan-kun's awake!"

"Really?" Houka's eyes lit up and everyone else's attention was on Miyuki as well.

"Yes. I was just sitting there, singing to him for a few minutes and he woke right up," Miyuki smiled.

"But…but I was with him for much longer…and he didn't budge," Houka stuttered.

"I'm sorry Houka-chan, so sorry," Miyuki said, "but Titan-kun's…he's asked to be left alone for now. He doesn't want to see _anyone_ for a bit, and I think we should respect that for the time being."

"He doesn't want me?" Houka said.

"Please don't take it that way, just give him some time," Miyuki tried to reassure her oldest daughter, but she had already rushed upstairs.

XXX

Later in the night, after everyone has home and safe, Titian went to bed after a long, hot shower.

He was starting to go to sleep when flashes of the night's events came flooding into him, causing him to cry out, "Kaa-chan! Help me!"

Miyuki was the first to reach her adopted son's side and found him, balled up like a kitten in the corner of his bed, with Kai standing near by.

Miyuki sat on the bed, "Titian, sweetie, I'm here."

Just then Houka ran in, "What's going on?"

Titian sniffled and looked up, "Kaa-chan?"

Miyuki smiled her very loving smile, "Hai. I'm here."

He moved to her and clung to her, "It felt like it was happing again."

She held him and rubbed his back, "It's okay, sweetheart. You're home and you are safe. No one is going to hurt you."

Titian couldn't help but shake. After a moment, he bolted for the bathroom, and everything that was in his stomach was in the toilet and he was still heaving.

Once he thought he was done, he laid on the floor and sobbed.

Houka stood there, unable to move to help her boyfriend as Miyuki and Kai aided him.

After several, long moments, Miyuki was able to convince Titian to try and get some more sleep.

She sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his back as she sang to him a sweet song. She then got her glass angel music box, wound it up, and laid it on his nightstand next to the fishbowl with Ponyo, and looked over at Houka and held out her hand.

Houka took her mother's hand and they went to the kitchen, where she made them both a cup of hot tea, "It's going to take a while, but you and Titan, with your love, will make it though this."

Houka nodded, "I know, but I felt so helpless just now. I want to be there for him, but I felt like I wasn't able to do anything."

Miyuki handed her oldest daughter a cup of tea and smiled, "Sometimes, a mother's touch is what is needed."

"I know, but Kaa-san…I should have been able to help him!" she cried out, "I should be able to hold him and help him through times like these."

"Houka, you are able to be there for him. You helped saved him and the rest of us from Envy. You showed a great amount of courage and I know he is thankful for that. Things will just take time for both him and you. Titian loves you just as much, if not more than you love him and he always will. He just needs a little bit of time, just like you do."

Houka sighed and nodded in agreement, "It doesn't make it hurt any less."

Miyuki hugged her, "I know how you feel."

Houka looked at her mother, puzzled, "How?"

"Your father was a nervous wreck when we got married and would throw up all the time. It wasn't until he went to visit his "mother" Magiel that he started to understand and was able to cope. Then, 9 months later, your Aniki was born," she smiled.

"Kaa-san! I don't want to hear about your sex life! And we're dealing with something very different."

Miyuki shook her head, "That wasn't my point Houka. My point is, things take time and sometimes men need a little love from their mothers to be able to cope with the new situation at hand. Give Titan-kun time, he will come around again."

"I really hope so, Kaa-san…I'm so worried about what this has done to us, as a couple. Will he trust me again? Will I trust myself with him again? I feel like I'm going to be stepping on glass for a while," Houka replied.

"Speaking of what this has done, you still have to figure out what to do with Hoshi-chan," Miyuki reminded her, "She's still asleep in the magic room. Mandora Boy is secretly watching her and she only stirs a little to let out a few sobs before going back to sleep. I don't think she's aware of where she is, but I _do_ think she's aware of what happened to her…and what Envy did through her."

"I…I still don't know what to do…" Houka admitted, "I want to do the right thing but I don't know what that will be…"

"Well I think you can hold off on that decision until morning. I think she'll still be asleep until at least then," Miyuki reassured her.

XXX

The next morning, before Miyuki even started working on breakfast, she heard sounds coming from the magic room and investigated. Inside she saw Tsubasa asleep but just waking up, two bubbling cauldrons nearby.

"Kaa-san…ohayo," he greeted.

"What are you doing up so early?" Miyuki asked.

"I couldn't sleep…this issue has been bugging me so I wanted to work on it to present some options before Hou-nee woke up," Tsubasa replied.

"Do what before I woke up?" A sleepy Houka emerged into the magic room, still in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes.

"Hou-nee…I made two potions overnight," Tsubasa explained, "One is the memory erase potion, but the other is one that allows for me to explore her mind. I wanted to know what the effects of the memory erase would be before we tried it…" he looked sad and shivered at saying that.

"What did you find?" Houka asked.

"I really feel for Hoshi-chan. The experience of being possessed by Envy and violating Titan-kun has left her in a deep despair. She saw and felt everything that monster did just as much as Ura-nee did when she scryed to locate Titan-kun earlier. Even though she had no control over Envy's actions, she still feels responsible for them and is experiencing a terrible burden of guilt. In her dreams she's in a dark place constantly crying for what she feels responsible for."

While Tsubasa was explaining this, Titan also emerged and cringed at the sound of Envy's name and immediately went to Miyuki's side.

"Then that settles it," Houka said, "We should erase her memories of those events. She…she doesn't deserve to suffer like this. It's not her fault, it was Envy and she already paid the price for what she did."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Tsubasa said, "The memory erase potion won't solve the problem, it may make it worse."

"How is that?" Miyuki asked.

"The potion will erase her memories of the event, but not the emotions attached to them," Tsubasa explained, "She would be like an amnesiac patient all of a sudden breaking out in tears and not knowing why. And with guilt this heavy, not getting any answers may torment her for the rest of her life."

"Oh no…" Houka gasped, "Do you think we could explain that it's not her fault?"

"With something this traumatic, it will be very hard to convince her completely," Miyuki said sadly.

"She's…she's waking up!" Titan pointed at Hoshi who finally got of the bed of water which disappeared. She looked back in surprise what she just saw, then looked at the half of the Ozu family who was looking at her with various expressions of concern (Tsubasa), sympathy (Miyuki), sadness (Houka), and fear (Titan). At seeing all of them she looked worse and worse, and seeing Houka and Titan, she fell to the ground crying.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…my…my friends…what have I done…Kami-sama I'm so so sorry!" she wailed. At the sound of her sobs, the other members of the family woke up and walked into the magic room. None of them spoke, but they all felt their hearts ache at seeing Hoshi on the ground sobbing, head bowed in guilt, not daring to face the friends she felt that she hurt so unforgivably.

"Tsu-nii," Houka whispered to her brother, "You're right. The potion won't solve this problem. This requires a…different kind of magic," she said and she walked over towards Hoshi and put a hand on her shoulder. She cringed at the touch and didn't dare look at her.

"Kaa-chan, what's Houka doing?" Titan asked Miyuki, still standing close to her.

"Shh…just watch and listen," Miyuki said softly.

Houka felt Hoshi's body shake as she bent down to her level, "Hoshi-chan…" she said gently, "Please look at me."

"I…I can't…" Hoshi shook some more, "not after what I did...to you and Titan-kun…you must hate me…I hate me…"

"Hoshi-chan, please look at me," Houka repeated, putting a finger under Hoshi's chin and lifting her face up gently. Houka took one look at the young girl's red eyes and tear stained cheeks and her heart was moved. She was going to do this because she felt she _needed_ to, but now she was also doing it because she _wanted_ to, "Hoshi-chan," Houka said, gently but firmly holding Hoshi's head up so she wouldn't turn away, "I forgive you."

"But…all that I did…you…how can you just…" Hoshi stuttered, "you don't hate me?"

Hoshi wiped the tears from the younger girl's face and shook her head, "No. I don't hate you. Hoshi-chan. You are an important friend to Titan-kun. I forgive you."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness…I don't deserve Titan-kun's friendship," Hoshi continued to shed a few tears.

"It's when we don't deserve forgiveness and friendship that we need them the most," Houka replied softly, "Please accept both from me."

"If…if you're really sure…" Hoshi said with hesitation.

"I'm sure," Houka said with a smile nod of her head. She also helped the younger girl to her feet where she finally started to look up.

"See," Miyuki whispered to Titan, "Now you understand what Houka-chan meant by 'a different kind of magic.' It's an older magic, and very powerful. Best of all, you don't need to be a magician to be able to use it."

"Really?" Titan looked at Miyuki who nodded and smiled.

"All you need is a heart. Anyone with a heart can use it," she replied as Hoshi approached the rest of the family.

"Everyone…I'm so sorry for everything…and thank you for taking care of me despite everything," she said, then looked at Titan who was still hesitant, "I'll understand if you don't want to be around me anymore, Titan-kun…but I hope you know how much I regret hurting you."

"The Hoshi-chan who was my friend…would never hurt me like that…" Titan replied. Hoshi paled considering it an end to their friendship but Titan continued, "but I can tell…you're hurting too because of what happened to me. Therefore…it wasn't you who hurt me…it was a monster and she's gone…the Hoshi that's here…she's still the one who's my friend…and I forgive her too." Titan held out his hand and Hoshi took it hesitantly but Titan squeezed it softly and smiled at her, "Now all you need to do is forgive yourself."

"It will be hard, but I'll try," Hoshi repied.

"Then I'll remind you as often as you need to hear it. We forgive you," Titan said. Then they heard the sound of everyone's stomachs growling.

"Time for breakfast!" Makito interrupted the moment with his cheerful shout. The younger members of the Ozu family left the magic room one by one.

"Hoshi-chan, please join us," Titan said.

"I…I should go," she replied.

"Not on an empty stomach," Houka insisted.

"Okay then, you've convinced me," Hoshi replied, trying to smile as Titan and Houka led her back out.

"Just us left," Miyuki mused.

"I know, we can give them a few moments," Isamu replied, "I need a moment anyway. I've never been more proud of Houka and Titan than at this moment."

"I know how you'll feel. It may be rough on them for a short time, but I think they'll make it," Miyuki smiled, "Now, let's go join the children."

"They aren't children anymore," Isamu said with a bittersweet tone to his voice.

(A/N: Well we hope that you have enjoyed this chapter and that it was worth the long wait. Please leave us some reviews to let us know what you thought. It's not the end though, we have a few more ideas to do before this fic is concluded so we hope you look forward to next time. Also if you've tried to PM us and it hasn't worked, try again, we fixed that on our account.)


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